... OH my Jesus, Oh my lord, Oh my Christ, Oh Shiiiiiit! I might have orgasmed like 16 times while watching Eclipse... You know how there's the person in the theater that starts the screaming? Yeah, I take the blame there. He was SO effing hot... He's remade my obsession with him all over again. Taylor Lautner is a BRILLIANT actor. I want to kiss the very lovely scrubble off his scrumdiddlyumptious friggin face.

So... Onto my other noteworthy notes.

Wow, there are so many amazing Jacob/Bella stories out there. How in the world did you guys ever discover and get hooked on mine?

Alright guys, I've got a new goal! By the end of this story, I want to have over 1000 reviews! I don't know if that's really possible, but I can hope, right? What do you say? Review if you love the story, k? It will make me so so so happy!

Plus, we only have about seven chapter left. We're at about 800 reviews now. C'mon, who's with me? There's a nice juicy lemon ending in it for you guys if we succeed! Or are close to it.

Happy 4th of July! Here's your presents from me to all my readers!

Chapter 42 – The Truth... Interrupted

Jake's POV

I led Bella into the forest closest to my house. She had no idea what was going on with Angela and Paul. I grinned. I knew. I'd tell her once we got settled.

I shed my pants and transformed into a wolf, lowering myself to the ground. Bella grabbed my pants and got on me. She was getting better at it. I smiled at the thought and trotted off towards our destination.

Our destination happened to be the highest open field that I knew of in the forest. At the south end of La Push, it was in the midst of a clearing of trees that opened up to one side to show the ocean. When we got there, I lowered myself down again so Bella could get off me. She turned around and waited for me to become human again, but I waited. I put my head on top of my paws and watched her.

She put her hands on her hips and grinned.

"How are we supposed to have a conversation?" she asked. I sat up and barked at her. She laughed. I held back the happiness that ran through me. She was so beautiful when she laughed. She seemed so care free, so glorious. She came over and sat beside me. When she didn't sit close enough, I got up and walked over to her.

She was sitting, her knees pulled to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. She was facing the ocean, the sky nearly as dark as it would be. If we could see the sun, it would be disappearing over the horizon. I sat down next to her and then curled myself around her, placing her at my stomach. She leaned back a little and I watched a shiver run through her.

"You're so warm, Jake," she said. I felt pride slip through me. No one else would ever hear her say that. No one else had probably ever heard that from her. I know the leech hadn't. I let my thoughts drift to him. When I had shifted this morning to leave on patrol, Sam had been on his way in. We had talked, in wolf form, for a few minutes about our plans.

When he mentioned Edward again, I saw the flash of him standing above our home, like an eagle stalking its prey. His eyes, blistering red. I let out a huff, just thinking about it now. Bella slumped down a little, using me as a couch.

Sam had decided to always have two wolves out on the prowl. He had worked out the schedules amongst the guys. Also, whoever wanted to volunteer whatever hours they could, it was acceptable. But there was no use over taxing the group. We needed to be rested and prepared, in case someone did attack.

We think Edward's the one who's responsible for the disappearances in Townsend. He probably lost it in Port Angeles and killed that one woman they found. Then he went East, hoping we wouldn't extend our jurisdiction there. He probably just hid the bodies. Sam had thought. His thoughts seemed plausible, so I didn't argue. Though a hyped up human drainer wasn't something I wanted to deal with.

When are we going to hunt him down, Sam? I had asked.

I want to make sure our home is safe before we start extending our reach. We don't know where he is, where he's staying, how powerful he is... We need to talk to the Cullens again. They deserve to know that he's no longer abiding their old rules.

We had left things at that. We would get to talk more about everything. I had just been too hyped up to go scouting this morning, and he had been all too eager for some down time with Emily.

Bella curled up against me and I curled in more, pressing my nose to her cheek. More like the side of her face. I smiled as she reached her hand up and touched my ear.

"I had fun today... It's so nice to see Angela. She's honestly my best friend, besides you," she said. I relaxed as she spoke. She told me of her day. She told me about Angela's life, the kind of person she was. I found myself extremely happy with what Bella was telling me.

"And then, when Paul came outside... What was up? Why was he so nice?" she asked. I grinned. I was pretty sure she knew the answer and just didn't want to admit it. With her laying against me, I shifted back into my human form. No longer having a cushion to lean against, she slipped backward, letting out a small cry. I rolled and caught her, placing her head on my stomach and smoothing out her hair. She muttered curses while I smiled up at the sky, my free hand under my head to support it.

"Paul was on patrol with me this morning. He was trailing you guys, watching over you, while Seth and I did our rounds around La Push. You should have heard all the things that he thought about her. She was plain, she sounded boring, so on and so forth..." I laughed, recalling all his thoughts while we were wolves.

"Paul's got a thing about peeing on a tree as a wolf. He won't do it," I said.

"Get out!" she said, turning her head a little to look at me. I grinned at her and then returned to the sky.

"Go figure, right? The manliest wolf in our pack won't lift his leg on a tree," I laughed. "Anyways, he shifted, so he could use the bathroom and did his business. Next thing you know, he shifts back into a wolf and he's freaking out. His thoughts were so sparatic, it took me and Seth a second to realize vamp hell wasn't breaking loose at his end."

I laughed now, remembering the intense fear that had gripped me. Had Edward somehow gotten passed us? Had he attacked Bella? Was he draining her? Changing her?

"Turns out, Paul finally knows what it's like to imprint," I said. Bella turned around to lay on her stomach. She was looking at me, one eyebrow raised.

"He seriously imprinted on her?" she asked. I laughed. It was hard to wrap your head around. The cocky, unemotional prick werewolf falling for the sweetest, down to earth human any of us had ever met. I reached my hand out to brush my fingertips along Bella's cheek.

"Harder imprints have come by," I said, thinking about our own situation. I had fallen for Bella. The woman who had been sleeping in the vampire's lair. A conflict of personalities was probably a lot easier to deal with.

She moved up and lowered her lips on mine. I closed my eyes and soaked her in. After having been gone from her all day, this is exactly what I needed. A calm night, to just lay and talk with her. To enjoy her presence and be hers.

You need to tell her about Edward, Jacob.

Sam's thoughts from this morning floated to the top of my mind and made my eyes pop open as Bella pulled out of the kiss and rested her head on my chest. I know I needed to tell Bella Edward had started drinking from humans. Hell, I should enjoy telling her. The nasty leech we always thought lurked somewhere in the Cullens mist had finally shown himself. He was just like I had always told Bella he was.

But somehow, crushing her memories of him wasn't something I wanted to do. Shattering her beliefs of that family, destroying any hope of a good vampire. How could I put Bella through that? But no. Worst of all, I didn't want her to feel the guilt.

Bella was caring. The first thing she would think if she found out Cullen had gone after humans would be it was her fault. She hadn't stayed with him, she had pushed him away, therefore, he had jumped the deep end and attacked the humans. Then, not only would she blame herself for his insanity, but every other human he drank from and killed.

How could Sam think this conversation could go lightly?

I know it won't be easy, but she NEEDS to know. If he attacks and she's not prepared for this... She'll feel betrayed by you, Jake.

I closed my eyes against Sam's words. No, not tonight.

Please, I just want to be normal, for one minute, I cried out in my thoughts as Bella readjusted herself. Why did everything have to be so impossible?

"What do you think Paul and Angela are doing right now?" she asked, lifting her head again. I looked into her eyes and saw happiness for her friend. I smiled.

"Paul's probably got her in his room, looking at his Star Wars collection," I said. Bella's mouth dropped and then formed into a grin.

"He has a Star Wars collection?" she asked. I laughed out loud, sitting up and bringing her close to me.

"We were all completely human before all of this, Bella. We had lives before we became wolves," I said, hugging her close to my chest. Her fingertips brushed over my lower abdomen, accidentally. I breathed in, feeling electricity ignite my hormones. I stifled it as she looked me in the eye.

"I guess I just can't imagine the over grown hulk being sweet, or nice. Angela deserves someone amazing... She's an amazing person," she said. I nodded, trying to wipe away the last of the electrical surge.

"I know she's a great person. Just from everything you've told me about her, and how she's helped you," I said, reaching my hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear so I could watch the creamy color of her skin shimmer in the darkness. God bless wolf senses.

"Trust me," I said, leaning my lips forward to brush feather light on her cheek, "Paul is already head over heels for her. You'll never find anyone else who will protect her better than him, love her better than him."

She turned her lips to mine and claimed them, making my heart race.

God damn, Bella, I don't want these hormones right now. Why do you have to be so sexy, I thought, sliding my hand into her hair and pulling her closer. She slid her leg over mine and straddled me, leaning her core right up against me. I moaned out, breaking the kiss and tilting my head back. She took the chance to trace her lips over my neck. I slid my hand up her back, beneath her shirt.

"You're sure he'll treat her perfectly?" she asked against the column of my throat. I closed my eyes as her teeth scraped the spot.

"He's not a Cullen, baby, he won't kill her," I said. Almost immediately, my eyes popped open as I realized what I'd said. She pulled away a little and looked at me.

"So you have to be a Cullen to kill?" she asked, fixing me with a hard glare. I mentally smacked myself. I reached out for her but she backed off of me.

"Bella, that's not what I meant, I wasn't thinking," I said, moving closer to her. I brushed my fingertips over her shoulder. I'm glad she'd taken that part of my comment and not the second half...

"Not all the Cullens are like Edward! They're not evil, Jacob. Carlisle is the sweetest person I've ever met, and he's helped more people in this town than you have!" she said. She had taken her devotion to the Cullens rather than my comment that Edward could kill... She had gotten me out of one snake pit, having to tell her that Edward had killed humans, but she had thrown me into a whole nother one I didn't know how to handle.

"I know you're friends with the Cullens, I didn't mean to offend you," I said as she got to her feet. I followed her and went to my pants. Somehow, arguing with my crown and jewels out in the open while Bella was angry didn't make me feel safe.

"Maybe next time you should think about what you say," she said, rounding on me. Her eyes were furious. I'm glad I put my pants on.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but sometimes it's a little hard for me to think clearly when I'm around you," I said, stepping close to her. She started to step back but I reached forward and grabbed her hand, pulling her close to me. I wrapped my arms around her, even as she fought me.

It was one of those... 'I hate you, get away from me, but I really want you to just hold me and make it better' deals. I'd heard of them. Never experienced them. I buried my nose into Bella's hair as she started to melt into me. I closed my eyes and held onto her tightly.

"I just want things to be simple," she said into my chest, half sobbing. "I don't want anything else to do with this vampire- werewolf bull shit! I don't want my life to be in danger! I don't want you or anyone else to have to worry about protecting me!" she cried. I stroked her hair, not realizing I had opened up a canyon that needed help filling.

I slid to the ground, taking her with me. I pulled her into my lap and laid her head on my shoulder, shushing her as I rocked her gently. I pulled her hair back, stroked her shoulders, touched her cheeks. Anything I could think of to try and calm her.

"I know this is difficult, Bella... It will all be over soon. This isn't something you need to worry about," I said.

"Ang... Angela thinks something bad is going to happen. I don't know how she feels it, but she thinks something's going on. She says she thinks it has something to do with Edward," she said. I felt my heart grow cold. Shit. Not only did she take my comment the completely wrong way, she was on the right track now too.

I reached my hand down and tilted her chin up so she was looking at me. Her eyes were swimming with tears, but they hadn't fallen. She had just been frustrated and hurt.

"You need to stop worrying... We have this taken care of," I said, encouraging her to believe me. She didn't need this right now. She didn't need thoughts of Edward. Horrifying images of him in her mind.

"So you know what's going on in Townsend? You know who's behind the disappearances? Was it Victoria?" she asked. I swallowed and looked away.

Just tell her, Jake. Just look her in the eye, apologize for not telling her earlier, and just tell her now, I thought. I looked into her eyes and opened my mouth-

ARRRROOOOOOOOOOO!

I glanced over my shoulder towards where the howl came from as Bella jumped.

"Get back!" I yelled, pushing her up off me. She scrambled away and I shed my pants as I felt the ripples over take me. The pants had barely cleared my last foot before I shuttered and shifted. So many thoughts. They all clashed. I couldn't make out a thing until-

Jake! Man, the Cullens called! Seth cried in his head.

That's enough! Everyone calm down. Jake, I need you to meet us same place as the last meeting with the Cullens. They just called. They've got some things to discuss, Sam said. I looked at Bella and whined a little, leaning down. She grabbed my pants off the ground and climbed onto my back.

Let me drop Bella off-

If you want to be here for the whole thing, I suggest you run at super speed to get here. They're in a hurry, Sam said. I growled a little as Bella wrapped her arms around my neck. I started walking and felt her wrap around me tighter.

I'll be right there, I thought, running at full speed now. After a few seconds, Bella moved up a little more and yelled, "What's going on?"

As if I were human, I started talking but it only came out in barks. I damned being a wolf now.

"Oh, well, that helps a lot! Let me get my mutt translator!" she yelled over the wind. I rolled my eyes as I quickened my pace. I hope she had her eyes closed. I was going faster than we ever had before.

The thoughts running through my head were overwhelming. Mostly, it was every one of the wolves thinking about what the Cullens could be in such a hurry about. Did they have news about Edward? Did they hear from him? Were they going to try and defend him? Re draw up the treaty?

Everyone's thoughts, except for one...

Paul, you better be treating Angela right. Bella's having a little hissy fit that you're not good enough for her, I thought, trying to lighten up the conversation.

Piss off, Jake. You're not going to keep me from her, and neither is Bella, he said. I grinned.

That's exactly what imprinting is. Welcome to the club.

Go bite a big juicy vampire coc-

That's enough! Head in the game, boys, Sam interrupted. I tried to swallow back my laughter at Paul's come back.

How'd you get rid of Angela? You transformed before I did, I asked Paul. I felt a plethora of emotions run through him.

I, uh... I sort of... She went home a few minutes after you left, he admitted. I felt embarrassment encompass him. I felt pity.

Why'd she leave? I asked, taking on a more serious tone.

Needless to say, I don't know how to handle an imprint. I've talked to girls before, but they were just flings. I don't know how to talk to someone I'm supposed to spend the rest of my life with, he said, straight out. He didn't even bother trying to change the subject or think up a lie. It was what imprinting entailed. We all wanted to be the best we could for our mate. It changed us.

We'll talk about this later. I'm sure you and Bella will have some things to talk about, I thought. I felt him agree and then I was there. I lowered myself to the ground to let Bella get down. I glanced around and then shifted. I ran over to her and backed her behind a tree.

"You need to stay here," I said, holding on to her shoulders. She was looking up at me.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"The Cullens called a meeting. It's probably nothing but-"

"Bella?" a voice called from across the small clearing. I stepped away from the tree, watching her. Pleading with her with my eyes to stay put.

A/N : Mwahahaha, cliff hanger! Sort of. Read, love and review! Next post will take a few days. Be patient!