Sorry for the ridiculous wait for all my stories.. college... what else can i really say but that it took over my entire life

As Jacob arose the next morning the first thing that filled his mind what all the problems that seemed to be popping up at home. He could always go back and help out, see his dad and sisters, hang with the boys, and apologize to Sue for clearing out the way he did, but.

He didn't think that he was ready yet to leave the Wolf Run Inn, there was something about the place that was pulling at him. He needed to stay and see if there was something here that could help him get over Bella and maybe become the person that he was supposed to be.

It all sounded so corny to him, just in his head that he hadn't mentioned it to his dad all the times that they had spoken about the future or when he called him. Jacob didn't think that he was meant to stay on the Rez with the rest of the guys, becoming a wolf with them had seemed like a final nail in the coffin until he had found the strength, and desperation, to run. And now he was here at the Inn, with secrets and commitments to more people than just himself. He couldn't run out on these people, they needed him to a certain degree, and he needed them.

Jacob wandered down to breakfast hoping that Theo had once again made something that would taste absolutely amazing since he was starving. Granted he had managed to cut down on how much he was eating now that he wasn't out running every night, but he still had a massive frame that he needed to nourish.

Theo gave a grunt at him and slid another plate onto the island. Serena was already there digging into a mountain of eggs and hashbrowns. Jacob raised an eyebrow at her, "That hungry from watching Cold Case all night?" He teased her, though it was a legit question since he had never seen a girl eat that much. Well, Leah, but he wasn't sure if she counted as a real girl.

"Ummm, actually I normally snack at night, but last night I didn't get up so I'm making up for it now." Serena aimed a sunny smile at Jacob and hoped that he bought her story. She couldn't exactly tell him that she was hungry because she had been running in the forest until dawn.

Jacob gave her a funny look like he wasn't sure whether or not to believe her, but then turned his attention to Theo who was rather bad-temperedly bashing the pots and pans around on the stove. "You alright there man? I think the dishes might give up the fight if you let them."

"What?" Theo turned around obviously unaware that he had been making such a spectacle of himself. "No, sorry. Zach pissed me off last night, he wouldn't go to sleep and turn off the stupid computer. He kept looking up different things about random crap and trying to talk to me about it." Theo slammed another pot into the sink, "I swear to God that boy spends more time in his head than he does here on planet Earth with the rest of us."

"Sorry man, my sisters use to keep me up at night when they would be on the phone with random people jabbering away about stupid things. I understand the desire to either kill them or destroy whatever they are using to keep you up." Jacob thought he saw a dangerous smile spread across Theo's face, but decided not to ponder it too much. He pulled up from his stool and grabbed his jacket to head off to the carpentry shed. He smiled at Serena and left.

Serena stopping shoving her food in as soon as she heard the door close, "Did you break the computer?"

"Yea!" Theo gave an exasperated sigh at her look. "You would have too if it meant getting a little peace and quiet. Zach kept going off about something that he thought he saw Jacob do. He wanted to look it up on the internet to see if it was even possible."

"What was it that he saw Jacob do?"

"Almost beat a tree into a pulp with his bare hands or something along those lines, I don't really care what Jacob did or didn't do as long as he keeps making awesome things with wood."

"But," Serena said after a minute. "But, his hands weren't beat up at all. They were fine." Theo finally stopped slamming the pots and stared at her.

There, apparently, was yet more to Jacob Black than there seemed.

Zach peered into his father's office and tapped on the door when he saw that he wasn't on the phone and that he was alone for once.

"Zach? What brings you over to this part of the house? Don't you normally avoid the paperwork side like the plague?" Gabriel smiled at his son as he set a stack of papers back on his desk for later.

"I.. ummm… I saw something last night that I think you should know about. Something that involves Jacob." Zach sidestepped around the room and wouldn't sit down; seeming to find the old pictures on the walls more interesting then the facial expression that his father was currently wearing.

"Well, what was it that Jacob did that is so interesting that I need to know? What did he raid the pantry or something?" asked Gabriel.

"No, he was driving back from the store last night and well, he was angry that I could tell. And he stopped the truck about 5 miles from the house, got out and smashed a tree into a pulp with his bare hands. I mean, a pulp Dad, not just a little indention into the side, the tree was not a tree when he was done." Zach stopped pacing finally stopped moving and looked at his dad so he would know that Zach was being serious, Gabriel could always tell by someone's face when they were telling the truth.

"Do you remember where this tree is?"

"Yeah, I marked it so I could go back later and double check," Zach answered.

"Show me," was all Gabriel said as he left the room.

Theo was cleaning up after breakfast when his father came in trailed by Zach.

"Did you see the state of Jacob's hands this morning?" Gabriel asked Theo.

"Yeah, they were fine. No scratches or scars that are new or anything."

"So you know what I'm referring to then when I ask about his hands?" Gabriel questioned.

"Well, Zach wouldn't shut up about it last night. Kept going on and on about Jacob smashing a tree into bits and how he was going to figure out how he did it. Seemed a little obsessive if you ask me, the guy is just a little stronger than the average Joe."

"Explain, then, how his hands are fine this morning? Even boxers wearing gloves get bruises at least!" Zach shot back at his older brother. He knew that sometimes he wouldn't let go of subjects especially when it was something unusual, but this was really odd.

Theo rolled his eyes at his younger brother's drama.

"Theo, watch him for me, anything odd or something that just doesn't add up, tell me. And get Jacob to talk about his friends and family, we need to know more about him," Gabriel ordered as he once again swept out the door.

Jacob wandered in for lunch unknowing that at that very moment Gabriel, Gregory, and Zach were examining the tree he had vented on the night before. Theo was the only one in the kitchen, grilling cheese sandwiches for the guests with a stew on the side for the family.

"Hey man, how was the breakfast rush?" Jacob asked knowing that Theo liked to bitch and moan about the whiny people that he had to feed every day. This afternoon, however, was different.

"It was alright, the usual. How was your morning? Any different than it would be at home?" Theo asked Jacob. This took Jacob by surprise, enough of one that he answered truthfully for once.

"It was different yeah. Normally my dad would be shoving me out the door to school or Sam would be sending me home if I ended up spending the night at his place with the others. Then Quil, Embry, and I would be heading to lunch right now to meet up with Jared and some others to talk about what we would be doing that afternoon and night." Jacob answered as he twirled his spoon around in the sauce, it gave him a pang to talk about his friends and not be able to see them.

"Why would you be somewhere else other than home?" Theo asked, looking up from the stove so he would be able to see Jacob's face when he answered.

"Sometimes we would be out really late and I would just crash there rather than walking or running back to my dad's place so that I could get the most sleep. It wasn't a big deal; all the guys did it from time to time." Jacob started eating as he talked; he needed to be getting back to the shed.

"Ah, being a hooligan and stuff running around till the wee hours?" Theo asked.

"Nah, nothing fun like that," Jacob answered. He shoved back his stool and put his dirty bowl in the sink. "Well, I gotta get going its Tristan's turn to take a break for lunch. See you later tonight." Jacob pulled on his coat and left again, once more leaving more questions behind than answers.

Gabriel pulled up at the front of the house with Zach and Gregory. They had examined the tree in great detail in the bright light the winter sun had lent them. There had indeed been blood on wood and they agreed that it carried Jacob's scent all over it. But what did it all mean? They had hunted all afternoon for more clues that could help them figure all this out to no avail. There was nothing else at the scene that could help them.

Gabriel was still musing as another car pulled up behind it and it's occupant started to climb out. Gabriel paused in starting to walk over to help with bags. It was Aiden Teague. The man who almost singlehandedly ruined the pack and almost killed his wife. Gabriel was about to tell Zach to go inside so he could settle this with Aiden in private when he heard Jacob's voice.

"Mr. Teague? What are you doing here? I thought you said you were moving to New Mexico to teach?"

Aiden turned around and smiled rather weakly at Jacob, "Well, one of my more promising students? I could ask you the same question."

I know, I know, if you have questions ask and I SHALL answer.. especially if you arent a reader of Blood and Chocolate, oh and please review!