A/N - Thank you so much for the reviews and lovely comments! They certainly make my day.
'Jake! Jake! Come on, Jake! Stop running! I'm not in the mood to chase you into Canada.'
'Then go home, Leah! I don't need you bugging me! I don't need anyone!'
Just like all those other times when he flew off the handle, Leah ignored him and kept racing after him, finding her speed to be an asset in catching up with the young Alpha-in-waiting. She wasn't about to let him get away; not now and especially not after how she saw how unhinged he was when he was talking with Sam. Leah was determined to keep her unspoken promise to Jacob. She wasn't going to let him go his pain alone.
It had all started shortly after she had phased for the first time. Leah didn't want to be anywhere within 100 miles of Sam and Emily and their sickening love-fest. Just looking at them made her want to throw up and seeing her cousin in Sam's mind felt like a punch to her chest. Leah was angry...no, she was fucking pissed off. Sam had apologized profusely to Leah, claimed that he still cared about her and in the next breath, said that he just couldn't live without Emily. It hurt like hell and no one seemed to care; no one understood. She was tired of the pitying glances from strangers and her Mom's reassurances that it wasn't her fault in Harry's untimely death. As much as she wanted to get over Sam and move on from all of the hell she was living, she couldn't. Her Dad was gone and she was stuck with Sam in her head. It felt like a life sentence of torture.
One afternoon, when she couldn't take any more of the crap, she had run through the woods, desperate to get away from everything and anyone. Leah suddenly stopped when she came across Jacob, punching the living daylights out of a tree trunk. His backed heaved with every breath he took. While she knew that his issues lied deeply in the fact that Bella Swan had left him for a leech, the fact that his knuckles were bloody and that she could smell the salty scent of tears gave her pause.
Sensing that he wasn't alone, Jacob turned, his face full of anger and tears, and he demanded harshly that she leave him be. As he slunk down onto the ground against the mangled tree trunk, Jacob dug his bleeding hands into his hair and sobbed quietly. If he were any other person, Leah would have gladly granted his request and took off. But she knew what he had gone through with Bella; hell, she had teased him mercilessly about it as it seemed to dull her own pain. But suddenly seeing him so broken with raw emotion, she felt a kinship to Jacob that only she could understand. They were both hurting; lost. She could relate exactly to how he felt when Sam broke up with her for Emily; how she still felt. But just like her, Jacob's constant bad mood and anger at people who got on his nerves came with a price and this was it - solitude. And Leah knew better than anyone that that was when the demons would come to haunt you. Jacob was too good of a person. He had reminded her so much of Seth; he had too much happiness deep down within him for her to allow him to go down that dark path.
Instead of leaving Jacob alone, Leah had quietly walked up to him and sat down on the ground a dozen feet away as Jacob quietly sobbed. Leah never comforted him - she just sat. He'd look up at her darkly through his tear-clouded eyes, expecting for her to viciously tease him.
"What the hell do you want?" He had growled deeply.
Leah shrugged. "Nothing. I thought I'd just sit here with you."
"I don't need you."
"I know you don't. I'm just sitting here."
He had eyed her curiously and scoffed, rubbing his nose with his hand before standing up and stalking back towards his house. Leah followed at a distance until she was certain that he was at home with Billy.
While at first, Jacob didn't understand whether or not Leah had motives behind doing it, he had to admit that he appreciated knowing that she was there for him. The rest of the pack had voiced it in their thoughts and words, and tried to cheer him up, but she had been the only one who had done anything meaningful. It wasn't much, but it spoke volumes. In turn, Jacob began keeping close to her, ensuring that he had her back when the guys acted like assholes. They could relate to each other's pain in ways no one else could.
It was an odd camaraderie that they kept to themselves. Leah would tease and sarcastically commend him in his effort in bottling up his emotions while Jacob would fip her off before going for a run with her at his side. She'd curse back at him and they'd continue their banter in that way. Leah began to think of Jacob as a brother; as close as she was to Seth. From that time forward, Leah felt a loyalty towards him that she just couldn't explain.
Desiring to now be alone, and not be followed anymore, Jacob came to a sudden stop and snarled as Leah approached him.
'I'm not going to fight, asshole. So, you can threaten me all you want,' she told him. 'Running isn't going to help. You need to stop acting like a baby! You'll never be Alpha this way!'
'Go to hell, Leah! You sound just like him.'
Leah didn't need to now who the 'him' was. She saw the sudden image of Sam in her head and she growled.
'I'm nothing like that bastard! He is weak!'
Weak.
That wasn't the first adjective that Jacob would use to describe Sam. He knew first hand that both the man and the wolf were far from weak. Jacob had fought with him on occasion, both in play and in anger. But he knew that the weakness that Leah implied was towards Sam's inability to fight against his imprint towards Emily.
Imprinting had taken its toll on Leah. No one despised it more than her. While it seemed that everyone was suddenly so supportive and accepting of Sam and Emily's relationship, Leah felt all the more ostracized. At a time when all she wanted to do was avoid the sickenly happy couple, her damn genetics had sucked her right back into Sam's life. Life just didn't seem fair. To have her be compared to Sam was a low blow and Jacob knew it. Leah was a survivor. Her heart had been riped out, ran over and pulled apart and she was left to pick up the pieces; alone. She had gotten stronger because of it; bitchy perhaps but that may be just a lasting repercussion of it all. Never again was she going to put her heart out there for someone.
'Sam doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. You should have just punched the jerk,' Leah stated.
'And where would that have gotten me? Double the patrol rotations with Jared...or worse yet...Paul.' He shook out his heavy russet fur coat. 'They have imprints! I'll be damned if I have to look at Jared's memories of having sex with Kim on her parents couch or...see my naked sister in Paul's head.'
'It can't be any worse than watching Sam go at it with Emily.'
Jacob calmed down, as he suddenly heard it within Leah's voice. It was barely audible but he recognized it as she had spoken similarity to him before. It was pain thinly veiled behind anger.
'Yeah, you're right. Sorry.'
Slowly, the air shimmered around Jacob as he shed the primal power of the wolf in favour of his humanity. He glanced over his shoulder to see that Leah had disappeared somewhere, no doubt phasing in private as she always had. Jacob quickly untied the strap around his ankle and stepped into his cutoffs.
"You better be covering up your junk," Leah warned him humorously, her eyes closed as she skillfully made her way towards him. "I don't want to be seeing any of that shit."
Jacob smirked darkly as he finished buttoning up his shorts.
"Oh, come on, Leah," he called out. "I know you like it."
"Fuck off, Black. I've seen enough of your ass to last me a lifetime," Leah teased, opening her eyes as she approached him.
"Seriously though, I am sorry for what I said," Jacob said.
"Whatever," Leah told him flippantly. "I'm over this imprinting shit. They can take all that love at first sight stuff and shove it up their asses."
It seemed that the pack was dropping like flies when it came to the mystical phenomenon. Quil had been the latest victim; imprinting on a child that had sent the pack reeling for a few days while they sorted things out. The assumption from the elders that the purpose of imprinting was for combining genetics to produce the most powerful wolves was officially debunked with Quil's imprinting on young Claire. It seemed twisted to even think about.
Jacob looked around them, recognizing that it appeared that they were somewhere just inside Olympic National Park. Based on scent, they were no where near the marked trails and there were no people within a five mile radius.
Leah sat down on the ground and stretched her legs out in front of her. Jacob followed suit beside her and laid down, resting his head on his arm as he looked up at the blue sky above.
"Can I tell you something? You can't tell anyone."
Leah turned to him.
"Sure."
"I love the guys and all, but sometimes their imprint thing drives me nuts. It's like an excuse for all the kinky things they do. I just want to hurl when walk in on any of them making out. Then they look at me like it's my fault that I caught them in broad daylight dry humping on my Dad's couch."
"Ewww!" Leah exclaimed before laughing aloud. "Paul and Rachel?!"
Jacob nodded.
"And Paul tried to make it seem like it wasn't that bad...saying that at least they had clothes on...like that makes it any better!"
Leah shook her head. "I curse the day that Seth imprints. God, I hope none of us holding out do."
"I wont be."
"You sound so sure of yourself."
"I overheard Dad talking with Old Quil - something about Alpha's being unable to imprint."
"You're not Alpha."
"Not yet," Jacob said with a sly grin. "And if Sam gets his way, I'll never be."
"Don't fucking throw a fit or anything cause I really hate to admit this, but I have to agree with the bastard," Leah stated bitterly. "Jake, I know you. You've got lots on your mind right now. The pack needs an Alpha who is able to handle everything on his plate and more."
Jacob clenched his jaw before Leah nudged his arm.
"So, suck it up, buttercup," she told him, bluntly. "You'll be Alpha someday."
"Just not anytime soon."
"Unfortunately not."
Jacob paused and looked at her as she closed her eyes, enjoying the sun on her skin. He carefully calculated how to say his next words.
"So, you and Embry...how's that going?"
Leah quickly turned to him, her face horrified. "What did that little pup tell you!?"
"Nothing. I kinda ran into you guys in the woods last week when I was on patrol. You and Em were hard to miss when all I heard was deep breathing and you saying his name over and over and him begging you to go faster."
Leah face-palmed, horrified. "Oh god."
"I had to keep on my shift for an extra half hour so no one else stumbled on you two...it smelled pretty strong out there."
Leah slowly looked over at him.
"Does anyone else know? You didn't tell anyone, did you?"
"Hell no! It's none of their business. And as for Em, I know him - he's pretty loyal. His memories have been locked tight."
"Thank god," she breathed.
"How long have you guys been having sex?"
"Two months or so."
A small smile pulled at Jacob's lips. "I thought something was different about you. You seem, happier."
"Don't read into it. It's just a casual thing between him and I."
"Sure it is," Jacob said, not entirely convinced.
"Embry's a good guy. I can trust him and he makes me feel good."
"In all the right places, am I right?"
"Shut up," she teased, flipping him the bird. "You know what, Black, I think you need to get yourself a woman."
Jacob rolled his eyes. "I tried that once. It didn't work out too well. Remember that girl that Paul set me up with?"
"The busty blond from Forks?"
Jacob nodded while Leah cackled beside him.
"She's the one that you called Bella halfway through dinner, right? And then you suddenly left shortly after that."
He groaned, wincing slightly at the horrible memory. "It's like I just can't get over her. No matter how hard I try. She's starting to ruin my life even though she's not even in my life anymore. It's driving me crazy."
Leah paused for a moment.
"Maybe you should talk to someone..."
"Like a shrink? I think they'd put me in a padded room the moment I start talking about the inner wolf."
"Shut up and let me finish, loser!" She exclaimed, slapping his arm. "I was talking about Old Quil. The guy may be a bit looney and is probably smoking some pretty good shit, but he might be able to figure out if it's something that your wolf is trying to tell you."
"What could my wolf be saying in torturing me about Bella?"
Leah shrugged and looked up at the sky before she stood up, eager to change the subject before it got too touchy for her liking.
"I need to run before we head home. Wanna join me, Slow Poke?"
Jacob angled his head to look at her. A rare smile appeared on his lips before he stood up. Leah was already dashing into the woods before he was on his feet.
When Charlie had woken up that morning, his plans for the day were simply this; go fishing and enjoy the first sunny April day that Forks had had yet. He didn't expect that it was also the day that he'd walk into the kitchen after being gone fishing since the crack of dawn to see Bella standing there.
It was a shock to his system, one that his head was still trying to wrap itself around. Charlie's eyes quickly scanned the young woman standing in front of him in order that his mind could understand that it was actually Bella that he was looking at.
Waves of emotions coursed through him as he looked at his daughter; relief, elation, confusion and finally, anger. Of them all, he was foremost relieved to see her.
Traitorous tears welled up in his eyes as he tried to think of something to say. When the baby in Bella's arms suddenly coughed, Charlie's attention was on him and he remembered the ice packs that he had dropped. Quickly, Charlie bent over and picked them up before handing them to Sue's waiting hands. He met her smile before he looked back at Bella.
"Bells?"
Bella smiled, enjoying the sound of her nickname coming from her Dad's lips. It had been so long since she had heard his term of endearment.
"What...what are you doing here?"
It wasn't the greeting that Bella was expecting from him, but then again, she wasn't certain what she was to expect after disappearing for two years.
"I came home," she replied weakly.
"Home?" He stuttered, his voice betraying himself. Charlie wasn't about to let himself get his hopes up. "You've come home? You mean to visit or to...stay?"
"To stay. That is, if that's okay."
Charlie scoffed and smirked before rubbing his nose with the back of his hand.
"Okay?" He asked sarcastically. "'Course it's okay."
He took three steps and wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head beneath his chin and he held her close to her. As upset as he was with Bella leaving like she had, he wasn't about to turn her away if she chose to come home. For Charlie, Bella would always be welcomed home.
When Daniel began to squirm in Bella's arms at being enveloped within the hug, Charlie pulled away in concern. He rubbed his nose once again, forcing his emotions back.
"And, uh...who's this?"
Given the obvious fact that the baby had a olive complexion, he found himself looking over at Sue and Seth for an answer, surprised to find that it was Billy who spoke from the doorway where he hadn't moved.
"His name is Daniel."
Charlie turned to Billy.
"Daniel?"
The baby in question turned his head at his name being spoken. Bella took a deep breath, not wanting Charlie to figure it out on his own but to hear it from her own mouth.
"He's my son."
Charlie blinked and simply stared before he shook his head, trying to gage whether Bella was pulling a prank on him. Seeing no hints of deception, he looked from Bella to Daniel and then back again.
"Your...son? You're serious? So, that makes him...my grandson?"
Bella nodded, before slowly turning and looked pointedly towards Billy.
"And Billy's as well."
Charlie quickly turned to Billy, surprise on his face as the two men shared an expression of shock. Billy ran his hands over his face finding her claim unbelievable considering her time apart from Jacob and his current feelings of animosity towards her. Meanwhile, Charlie was still digesting what Bella had said.
"So...Jacob," he concluded, finding his mind was still wrapping around all this news. "You and...Jacob. How? Wh...when?"
Assuming that Charlie was not really wanting to know the 'how', Bella answered what she guessed he was asking.
"I didn't know that I was pregnant with Daniel until after I left. I had him in Nova Scotia almost 14 months ago. No one here knows about him."
Charlie was overwhelmed. He shook his head and mumbled about the need to get a drink. As he made his way across the room to the fridge, Sue took the opportunity to pass Bella the ice pack that she had wrapped up in a dish towel. After a few attempts at placing it against the back of Daniel's head and having to fight against his hand pushing it away each time, Bella gave up. Sometime along the way, Seth had disappeared into the other room and brought back his pacifier.
All the while, Billy watched Daniel, his eyes transfixed on the boy in disbelief, looking for the proof he needed. Although Daniel had many Native American characteristics that certainly could conclude that he was Jacob's son; the dark hair, his complexion, to Billy, it wasn't enough. After everything Bella had done to his son, he just couldn't take her claim that this was his grandson.
The suddenly, he saw it. It was in a memory of when Jacob was that age; the way he would smile and it would show in the way his eyes squinted against his full cheeks. He saw that same smile as Seth held out the pacifier out towards Daniel. Billy watched as Daniel took it from his hand and shoved the pacifier into his mouth before resting his head beneath Bella's chin. The smile was so brief, and he barely noticed it but it was the proof that he had been looking for.
He gasped audibly before looking over at Charlie.
"Uh, Charlie, grab me one too, will ya?"
Bella looked up at Billy, finding his eyes watching her as she swayed lightly with her arms around Daniel. While Charlie passed a beer to Billy, Sue approached her.
"If you'd like, I can take Daniel into the other room so you and Charlie can talk."
Bella nodded, before she passed the little boy into Sue's arms. He protested a bit until Seth came up to him with a ball. The toy instantly changed his mind and soon, Sue was quickly taking the toddler into the living room. Seth and Billy followed after her, leaving Bella alone with Charlie.
"So, you're a Mom," Charlie began, leaning against the counter. "You're too young to be a Mom."
"And you're too young to be a grandpa."
The edge of Charlie's mouth turned upward. "Flattering."
He paused before he let out a sigh. "Bells, I just thought that you and Jake would know better and be more responsible when it came to things like that."
"Things like what?"
"Like...contraception...dammit Bells, I didn't think I'd have to have this conversation with you after you had a kid."
"Dad, I'm not upset about being anything. Sure, getting pregnant with Daniel wasn't what I was expecting, but I'd never regret it."
"Of course not, Bells and I'm not implying that. I'm just...a little overwhelmed here, that's all."
He rubbed his hands over his face and sighed.
"It's not everyday that I come home from a mornin' of fishin' to find my daughter that I haven't seen in nearly two years holdin' my grandchild that I didn't even know about." He paused and let out a breath. "Where the hell have you been? Why did you wait so long to come home, Bella?"
"It's complicated," she replied softly.
Charlie snorted.
"Complicated? Does Edward have anything to do with it? Where is he anyways?"
Bella sighed. "I don't know."
Charlie's eyes narrowed as he studied his daughter. "Did something happen between you two? Did that son of a bitch hurt either you or...Daniel, cause if he..."
"Dad, he didn't, I assure you. Edward made sure that Daniel and I had everything we needed. It was time to come home. I missed home."
"So, uh...you and Edward...you guys aren't together anymore?"
Bella shook her head. "We never were."
Charlie suddenly felt the need to sit down.
Bella quickly explained the note, the fact that Alice had exchanged it for one that she wrote. When Bella couldn't fully explain her reasons behind why she left Forks in the first place, Charlie had his suspicions that Edward somehow was involved. Charlie considered the possibility that perhaps Edward lured Bella away and somehow brainwashed her from coming home until she came to her senses and escaped. It was a far-fetched notion and although Bella never eluded to anything like that, Charlie began to wonder. After hearing Billy's ramblings years ago about how the Cullen's weren't good company to keep despite Charlie ever seeing anything to the contrary, he now began to wonder if perhaps Billy had been onto something.
While Charlie had always found Edward to be a bit suffocating in the way he was always with Bella, he had been simply content to know that Bella was happy in Forks. Knowing that Bella up and left Edward, Charlie was going to ensure that the Cullen boy stayed away from his daughter and grandson.
With a sigh, Charlie pushed himself up from his chair at the table.
"So, I think you should go find Jake and explain that whole mess to him," Charlie concluded. "And let him know about Daniel. It's important that he hears it from you."
Bella nodded in agreement.
"I will. Sam Uley said that he'd track him down for me."
"And you, and Daniel," he said, glancing out the kitchen doorway, "you guys are welcome to stay here as long as you like."
A smile came to Bella's face.
"We can find a crib at the second hand store and I'm sure that we can rearrange your room to fit it. We'll make this work."
"Thanks Dad," she told him, reaching up to hug him with both her arms this time.
"I'm just glad you're home, Bells."
"Me too."
As he hugged Bella, they heard the sound of Billy and Sue's laughter and Daniel's happy screetching coming from the living room. Curious, they walked together to see what was going on.
Suddenly seeing Charlie walk into the room, Sue went to his side and tucked her arm around him.
"Are you okay?"
Charlie simply stared at the little boy playing in front of the couch with a blanket over his head. Seth sat on the couch behind him and held it over him and when Daniel pulled at the fabric, he helped him pull it off. With wide eyes, Daniel looked over at Billy and exclaimed with a loud 'Boo'!
Billy feigned being surprised which sent Daniel into a fit of giggles.
"I'm good," Charlie said, a smile coming to his face. "I'm a grandpa."
"Yes, you are," Sue confirmed, watching as Daniel covered his head again.
"Scare Grandpa Billy again," Seth coaxed the little boy in front of him. With teasing eyes looking over the edge of the blanket, Daniel quickly pulled it down and gave a little jump as he shouted 'boo'!
Charlie chuckled, watching his best friend pretend to be surprised by a 14 month old hiding behind a blanket.
"Does he ever look like Jake," Charlie commented aloud.
Billy nodded in agreement while Bella walked around to sit on the couch beside Seth. Seeing his Mom had reappeared, Daniel lifted his leg in an attempt to climb up onto the couch with her. With a smile, Bella picked him up and stood him on her lap. That's when she noticed something.
"Oh my, Danny-boy!" She exclaimed, her nose wrinkling. "You stink."
Daniel looked down at her and put his hands together, laughing before he bent over and wrapped his arms around Bella's neck.
Bella excused herself with Daniel and headed upstairs to her bedroom where her duffle bag sat with the only belongings that she had brought along with her when they left Pubnico. She laid Daniel down on her bed and searched through the bag, finding that she hadn't taken nearly as many diapers as she thought she had. Only two were left.
That's not all that she saw in the bag.
She found Jacob's dream catcher that he had given her as a birthday present months before she took off. Daniel reached up for it, recognizing the shells and beads hanging from the intricately woven dream catcher that had hung above his crib. With a smile, Bella passed it to him, pleased to see that it was enough to keep him still while she quickly changed him.
Bella soon came back downstairs with Daniel, the little boy carried the dream catcher in his hands. She moved to sit down on the couch beside Seth.
"I remember that thing," Billy commented, his eyes watering slightly at seeing Daniel holding the dream catcher as he sat on Bella's lap. "Where did you get it?"
"Jake bought it for me for my 18th birthday. I've hung it over Daniel's crib since he was born."
Billy smirked and shook his head.
"Jacob didn't buy it, Bella. It was given to him by my father. My grandfather made it."
Bella's eyes shot over to the dream catcher that she allowed her 14 month old to hold onto. She felt horrible for allowing Daniel to hold onto a such a precious heirloom. Quickly, she pried it out of Daniel's hands. The toddler protested slightly but Seth quickly picked up the ball at his feet and passed it to Daniel beside him, instantly causing him to forget about the dream catcher.
"Oh god, Billy, I'm so, so sorry. I had no idea that it was a family heirloom."
Seth's mouth had dropped as he figured out the connection as to who made it.
"No way! Ephraim Black made that?"
While Billy nodded, Sue explained who he was to Bella.
"Ephraim Black was the last historically recorded chief for the Quileute nation."
Bella looked down at the dream catcher in her hands and held it out towards Billy.
"Jacob shouldn't have ever given this to me. You should have it."
Billy was surprised. "Why? Jacob gave it to you."
"But it belongs to your family."
Billy smirked and shook his head. "As far as I'm concerned, you and Daniel are family, just like Charlie here. And like your Dad, you and Daniel are always welcome in La Push. So keep the dreamcatcher. I'm sure that Ephraim would've been pleased to know that his great-great grandson sleeps beneath it."
As the morning went on, Daniel was the source of the entertainment in the house. After Bella put together a small breakfast for Daniel, she walked into the living room to get him, only to see Charlie sitting on the floor while Daniel handed him fishing magazines. To Charlie and Billy's delight, the little boy pointed out every boat within the magazine. Instead of stealing the little boy away, she simply passed Daniel a piece of toast, allowing the grandfathers to continue interacting with their grandson. Bella sat down on the couch and watched.
Every so often, Bella's eyes would drift to the clock. With each passing hour, she grew all the more anxious. Surely Sam had gotten ahold of Jacob by now. The possibility that Jacob just didn't want to talk to her hung heavily over her. A feeling of dread sunk in her stomach when she considered that perhaps he had moved on. While she still loved him, there was a good chance that he didn't feel the same. Based on Seth and Sam's explanation of how Jacob took their 'break up', she prayed that he'd be willing to be civil with her for Daniel's benefit.
Suddenly Sue came into the room, her purse slung over her shoulder and her keys in her hand.
"I'm running back to La Push to grab a lasagna that I have in freezer for supper. I'll be back shortly."
With the mention of La Push, Bella turned.
"Do you mind if I come with you and make a stop at the store in town? Daniel is almost out of diapers."
Sue shrugged and nodded.
"We'll keep an eye on this little guy for you and Billy and I will talk fishing boats with him. We'll teach him the difference between a Lund, a Princecraft and a Lowe ," Charlie said with a wink, as Billy picked Daniel up and sat him on his lap. Daniel held up a magazine with a boat in Billy's face and let out a loud 'BO!'
While Billy chuckled, Seth groaned and leaned back against the couch with his eyes closed.
The ride in Sue's SUV to La Push was uneventful and quiet. While Bella had been quite talkative while in Forks when Sue had dropped her off at the store to pick up the diapers, Bella could feel her anxiety rise as they crossed the boundary into the reservation. As much as it felt good to be back in a place that held so many good memories, a part of her was apprehensive aboout the possibility of encountering Jacob. Sue glanced over at Bella worriedly as they drove along, almost able to sense the young woman's growing nerves.
"Bella, I'll just be a few minutes," Sue told her just as she pulled up in front of her house.
Bella nodded silently as Sue climbed out. While Sue unlocked the door and disappeared into the house, Bella looked down the road. Just past a large pine tree she could make out the red siding of the Black's home. Taking a deep breath, she quickly undid her seat belt and climbed out of the car.
She didn't know how her legs kept moving; her head was telling her to stop, but her heart kept her going. Bella must have been moving quickly because before she knew it, she was standing on the front porch. For a moment she considered just turning around, but before she could move away, she was knocking on the door.
Hurried footsteps were heard inside the house and a deep voice echoed before the door was opened.
A woman with dark hair pulled up into a messy bun on her head peered out, confused as to why a Pale Face was all the way out in La Push. While the woman took a moment to figure out what was going on, Bella recognized her. Age had softened her womanly features.
"Rebecca?"
Her eyes stared at Bella, trying to place her face.
"No, it's Rachel."
A sudden recognition passed over Rachel's face before she scowled.
"As I live and breathe," she stated, looking at Bella from head to toe. "You have a whole lot of nerve showing your face around here after what you did to my brother."
Bella let out a sigh. She wasn't expecting to see Jacob's older sister here. Bella hadn't seen her in years.
"Rachel, is Jacob here?"
She crossed her arms and scoffed.
"You really think I'm going to tell you where Jake is? You can take your pale ass and go back to your Edward Cullen. We don't want your kind around here."
At the mention of Cullen, a steady thumping of footsteps within the house quickly came to the door. To Bella's surprise, a tall, dark, shirtless man suddenly appeared over Rachel's shoulder. Bella instantly recognized him. She had met him before, outside of the Ateara's store the last time she had been in La Push. He was a part of Sam's gang.
"Holy shit," Paul cursed. "Bella Swan. Come back to make more of Jake's life a living hell?"
Bella clenched her jaw.
"Where is he?"
Paul stepped past Rachel onto the porch and crossed his arms over his chest.
"You really think you have the right to be making such demands around here? Didn't Billy Black tell you that you weren't welcome in La Push?" He stepped closer to her, causing Bella to have no choice but to back up onto the gravel driveway.
Behind her, she heard Sue's SUV suddenly pull up and for a second she considered running to the passenger side. But Bella was determined to get answers.
"Jacob doesn't want to see you. Get the hell off our land," Paul growled at Bella.
He could hear Bella's heart beating in her chest and was anticipating smelling the scent of her being intimidated by him. Except it wasn't there. Bella glared darkly at him, her eyes piercing.
"You can't tell me what to do! I'm not afraid of you."
Paul leaned in closer to her, his lip having no choice but to curl up over his teeth, a deep rumbling in his chest as a snarl erupted from within him.
"Oh, you should be," he snarled.
Suddenly, Sue was at Bella's side. She quickly grabbed Bella's arm and pulled her back towards the SUV.
"Bella, get away from him," Sue warned, her eyes watching Paul carefully. It seemed to her that Paul wasn't doing a good job in calming himself down. She quickly looked at Rachel in the doorway.
"Rachel, call Sam! Right now!"
The young woman was about to turn into the house to call him, but it was not necessary. Her eyes caught Sam quickly running out from the trees across the road.
"Paul! Calm down!"
As Sam came near and placed himself between the volitile wolf and Sue and Bella, Paul's eyes widened. They darted between Sam and Bella, and he took a threatening step towards him.
Having seen Sam not at all surprised by Bella's presence caused Paul's temper to flare all the more.
"What the hell, Sam!? You knew she was fucking here and you didn't tell us!?"
"It didn't concern you."
Paul growled. "Didn't concern us?! Are you fucking kidding me!? Does Jake know?!"
"I've been trying to get ahold of him."
"You know he's not going to want to talk to her."
"I don't care," Bella suddenly stated, causing Paul's attention to turn back to where she stood with Sue's arm protectively on her arm. She was ready to pull her back in the event that her life was suddenly in danger. Although Sue knew that Paul wouldn't hurt someone, she wouldn't put it past him when it came to Bella Swan.
"I need to talk to him."
Paul snorted, a growl once again resonating in his chest as he glared darkly at her.
"It's all about what's good for you, isn't it. Did you know that Jacob hates you? He thinks that you're a vile, disgusting and ugly person. He wishes that he never met you! He regrets falling in love and having sex with someone like you!"
He watched Bella's face flinch at the words he used.
Sam put up his hand. "That's enough, Paul."
Paul wasn't about to obey, not when he noticed that his words were actually hurting Bella. Of course it would never make up for the torment he had to endure overhearing in Jacob's mind, but it gave him satisfaction that she felt a small percent of pain.
"You're lying," Bella said softly.
A small sardonic smirk pulled at Paul's lips when he saw Jacob and Leah suddenly come through the tree's across the road. They seemed to be in mid-conversation when Jacob suddenly came to a stop and stared towards where they all stood in front of his house.
"Why don't you ask him yourself?"