Sorry this took me so long to update! But here it is finally. Hopefully I can write the next chapter in better time.

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Jacob's POV

I was lying flat on my back in the dirt surrounded by trees and forest vegetation. I sat up intending to find a clearing or a road, get my bearings. There was a woman standing about ten feet in front of me. She had a smile on her face that reminded me of my sisters. Her skin was the color of mine and her hair was just as black and shiny. She wore a long sky blue dress that touched the ground around her bare feet. I knew this woman. I looked at pictures of her every day because my memory of her never did her justice.

"Mom?" I said.

"Hello, Jacob." Her smile widened showing pearly white teeth.

I could not believe my mother, who died when I was young, was standing here in front of me. I was elated to see her, but my worries of how I was seeing her took precedent. "Am I dead?" I asked her as I stood and brushed dirt off the back of my shorts. I was, like almost always, shirtless.

She walked up to me and put her hands on my biceps, giving me a fond smile, she shook her head. "Look how you've grown. No, sweetheart, you're not dead, but you're not exactly alive either. You're at a point where you have to decide which path to take. Most people don't get an opportunity like this, Jacob. You are so very lucky."

"Lucky? To be dying and in some kind of limbo where I have to make a decision on whether I want to live or not? Sorry, mom, I don't think I'm all that lucky." I looked away from her. Why would I be given a choice? I did nothing to deserve it. In fact, as far as I was concerned I did plenty of things that made me less deserving.

"I'm here to help you. Do you remember what happened?" she asked. I sighed loudly at her question. She probably already knew the answer, but I still did not feel it was something I wanted to tell my mother about.

"I rejected an imprint and I got sick." I looked at the ground as she nodded, unwilling to see her opinion reflected in her eyes.

"Come sit with me." She walked behind a tree and as I followed her, a newly fallen tree came into view. It was not yet grown over with weeds and the ground around it appeared disturbed by its presence. I sat down on it next to my dead mother. She took my hand and looked at me with sad, understanding eyes. "Why did you reject the imprint? You know how special and important they are."

How could I explain to her the many issues I had been facing? "He's a vampire, Mom. I'm supposed to want to kill him not love and protect him. And that's just the main reason. There are more, less important ones." Like that he was a guy, he was in love with my best friend, and he hated me just to name a few. I picked at a twig sticking out of the tree avoiding her eyes. I felt as though she knew everything and I was afraid she would disapprove of my choices.

"Jacob, you know there are always reasons to these things. I know you are afraid of being hurt, but look what happened to you when you didn't even try. Do you know where you are right now?" She looked at me expectantly.

"In a forest somewhere up north?" was my reply.

"No," she shook her head with a sad smile. "You're in a motel somewhere in the middle of Canada." I must have given her a confused look because she continues, "He came to get you, son. He was worried. He's sitting right next to you as we speak. Can't you feel him?"

I shook my head. "Why would he come for me?"

"Edward found out about the imprint. He doesn't want you to die. He cares about you."

"I doubt it. He probably just did it for Bella." I scoffed. There was no way Edward Cullen would come looking for me. The idea was absurd. Yet I felt a little hope bubbling deep inside. The kind of hope that had driven me to where I was at that moment. Wanting something I could never have was a very bad thing.

"Bella doesn't know about any of this. Isn't it possible that his feelings for you have grown since the imprint?" she countered.

"No. He is very much in love with Bella and even if he felt anything for me, I did not leave for that reason. I left to get away from him. I don't want to be in love with a vampire." I looked away hoping she had not heard the choking sound in my words or seen the tear that escaped my right eye.

"Oh, Jacob." She rubbed my back just like she used to do when I was upset, probably over something my sisters did to me. "You have to look past that, Honey. Those kinds of things do not matter. What matters is his heart and your heart. I know enough about the Cullens to know that that boy works very hard not to be the monster you have labeled him as. You know what that's like. Trying so hard not to be the monster you believe yourself to be."

I did not say anything for a while. I believed my Mom was telling the truth, but why would Edward come after me especially after finding out why I had left? And if he did want to work something out, how would we go about doing something like that with Bella and the Pack involved? No, I could not see my going back as a good thing. But then again, I owed Edward an explanation and I desperately wanted to learn how the vampire felt.

"Isn't it worth going back just to see what happens? If it doesn't work out, I'm sure you'll find a way to let go and move on. You are too young to die, Jacob."

"A lot of things have happened in my life that I'm too young for, Mom." I said, a little bitterness in my voice. She nodded, looking away. I was reluctant to put my life in the hands of that vampire. If I was going to die, I was going to make damn sure it was not because he had rejected me.

"I know how you feel about him, Jacob, and I think there is potential for him to feel the same way. He just needs time. Sam told him not to come after you unless he was sure he wanted you in his life in some way."

That statement had sent my mind into overdrive. I was now thinking up all kinds of possibilities and scenarios. Edward had come after me with the intention of making me a part of his life? Because he didn't want me to die? I knew enough about Edward (from Bella) to know that he was not cruel enough to save me only to hurt me again. The future looked a little brighter.

"I guess you are right. I should go back." I said, turning to my mom. 'Although, I've missed you so much. Staying wouldn't be so bad either."

She shook her head. "You're needed back in the real world. Think what will happen to your father and the Pack without you. Life may seem hard right now, son, but it will get better. I promise."

"Wow. Coming back from the dead and telling the future. Is there anything you can't do?" I teased with a smile.

"No, I just know that life is almost always at its worst around your age." She smiled and wrapped her arms around me.

"I miss you so much." My eyes began to swell with emotion and I did not care if I began to cry, she would understand.

"You've been through so much Jacob and so has Edward. The two of you deserve the love you could share together. Now go back. Be good and most of all be happy."

"I love you." I said and I wrapped my arms around her. As I looked into the trees, I felt her presence disappear and then everything went dark.

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Well, there it is! I hope you liked it! I really like this chapter, myself. Please review and tell me what you think!