Chapter 31

Back in La Pusha, Jacob was trying to get control over his anger because ever since he had become a werewolf just the slightest anger would push him over the edge. It had been months and still he was having difficulty to control it. The others in the wolf pack told him that this was the most difficult thing to deal with after becoming a werewolf, but after awhile Jacob would be able to not get angry that easily. Practice makes perfect. Though, there were some disadvantages to being a werewolf there were many perks as well. One, he didn't have to worry about being cold ever during the winter time since now his body temperature ran over 100°F. Two, Jake had bulked up since his transformation gaining almost thirty pounds of purely muscle. Along with all the muscle gain, his overall strength had increased as well. Third, any time he needed some place to just sit and think he could shift and run off into the forest to contemplate or find some peace. It royally sucked at times to be a werewolf because around humans he had to keep his anger in check so he wouldn't get too enraged and shift. After months adjusting to these changes, being werewolf feels almost natural to him that Jake felt that it completed him since at times he felt that sometime was missing in him. He always had felt a draw to being in the forest surrounding him with the wilderness and nature as it brought him serenity and peace when his life was tumultuous or chaotic.

Getting adjusted with being a newly transformed werewolf had kept him busy that he hadn't though about Bella in months. It seems ages ago that he even talked to Bella because the couple times he tried right after he became a werewolf his friend Embry and his dad prevented him from any contact with Bella for her own safety. They didn't want him to accidently hurt her if he got angry and then feel horrible for it. He would occasionally wonder how she was doing and what she was up to nowadays. Bella was his close friend that wasn't on the reservation. He typically associated with people on the reservation in La Pusha not much of other people in Forks except the Swan family. Though, even the natives living the reservation the Black family didn't associate much with except for the wolf pack which Jake interacted with a lot nowadays. Jake once saw the wolf pack as his nemesis because they took his best friend, Embry, as he spend increasingly more time with Paul and the other wolves. Embry would prattle on and on endlessly about how awesome Sam and the others were, but it just infuriated Jake because they were trying to add Embry to his pack. Jake slowly realized that the anger he felt towards Sam and the wolf pack was wrong. The wolf pack was really like family to him after he became a werewolf, and he couldn't image dealing with it without their support. Jake really appreciated his father helping him through this rough transition, but it wasn't the same as people especially the wolf pack who were werewolves like himself and could be of more help.

Though out of all the people in the wolf pack, there were two new members in the past couple months, Leah and Seth Clearwater. Their father had passed away a couple weeks after they changed into werewolves as a result of their severe grief for their beloved father. Leah had a more difficult transition period than Seth because she had to deal with more intense anger issues to deal with. Seth had a bit more calmer transition into a becoming a werewolf but he was still getting used to routine of shifting. The wolf pack was not worried about Seth often so it made their job of keeping an eye on the new members simpler, instead a few from the wolf pack like Sam and his henchmen kept a constant watch on Leah. Leah was like a loose canon that could become uncontrolled at any moments and with her being the only female werewolf in the pack it made it all the more difficult. Occasionally, Leah had her freak out moments, but it was quickly contained and dealt with immediately before it could attract much attention. Sam would tell have to put her in her place when she'd flip out or act like she was the alpha female in charge. She had some issues with acknowledging Sam and his mate, Emily, who he imprinted on as the leaders of the wolf pack. Though, Emily never announced officially to be the alpha female, Leah felt threatened by her because not only had she taken her man and left her broken-hearted. Emily, her second-cousin, didn't intend on this occurring, but the first moment she saw Sam Emily knew that she was destined for him. Leah and Sam had dated for awhile, but their relationship wasn't stable enough to last. Sam had imprinted with Emily, not Leah. This rejection made her bitter as she openly displayed that Sam was not her favorite person, yet she was unable to avoid him since Leah had become a werewolf and joined the wolf pack. It wasn't easy being the only female in the pack.

Jake was glad he didn't have a difficult time adjusting to being a werewolf like Leah. He had no issues with her younger brother, Seth, who was a cool kid to hang out with, but it was Leah's defensiveness and attitude that aggravated him endlessly. Unfortunately, she was not going to get any sympathy from him. Otherwise, the other in the pack were pretty chill that he hung out with them often that the more time Jake spent with the pack the more he they became like his own brothers not just friends. Jake never had brothers since he was the youngest out of four children with his other three siblings being girls, so it was nice to have brothers of his own even if they weren't biologically related to him. In other words, the pack was like one big family that wasn't perfect and had its occasionally problems or issues, and it was resolved as they moved on from them. He was kept so busy constantly being around the pack that it never occurred to him to contemplate what happened to his best friend, Bella.