Blackenedwolf: Glad you liked the last chapter and I hope this one came soon enough.

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Narrator POV

Billy spun the wheelchair around and began to push himself up the ramp and back into the house. His chair now seemed to have iron weights attached, even though he knew it was just an illusion. From the day of Jacob's birth, Billy had wondered whether his only son would be spared or ensnared by his tribal heritage. Now he knew. With a heavy heart, the Quileute chief started calling the other members of the tribal council to pass along the news about Jacob and Quil. They would need to have a meeting.

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Jacob POV

Jacob!The voice of Sam Uley was still there.

And I always will be. Sorry. He did sound regretful. I am. Do you mind stopping? This'll be a lot easier if we aren't running at the same time.

With effort, I slowed down and stopped. I sank to the ground and waited. After a while, I heard padding footfalls and saw the black wolf again.

Thank you.

You're welcome, I didn't care that I sounded sarcastic. So what did you mean about always being there?

One part of it is that I'm the Alpha of the pack, so that means that everyone else is my responsibility. The other part of it is that when we're phased like this we can hear each other's thoughts. Great for coordinating, but not so great for keeping anything private.

Yeah, we get to see all the good stuff with you and the missus, Paul added. I caught a flash of what he meant and gagged.

Shut up. And don't ever mention that, or I'll make sure that Emily adds something extra to your next muffin that'll make sure you tell all of us just how often a wolf can go in the woods.

The threat was a good one because Paul did shut up. He focused on his own running and I could see the trees whipping past him.

We can see through each other's eyes, too, Sam continued.

Joy.

Only thing we can do is try not to think about stuff while we're phased. It isn't easy and doesn't always work, but it's the only option we've got.

So what's the rest of the good news?

You probably noticed your growth spurt lately. You'll likely be a bit bigger than that now that you've phased.

That's us: big mean killing machines, Paul cut back in. Clearly he was a lot like Quil: couldn't stay quiet for long, threat or no threat.

Hey! Both Paul and Quil objected to that one.

Killing…Protector… Things started falling into place. Cold Ones.

Vampires. Leeches. Bloodsuckers.

Bella! Cullens!

Yeah, Sam agreed. Same ones our great-grandfather's made the treaty with seventy years ago, plus a couple of new members.

Bella?

I don't know how much she knew or whether she learned it just from you or from them, too, but yes, she does seem to have known what they were.

She knew? And suddenly that day on the beach took on a new tone: had she played me to get information?

I didn't say that. You know her better than I do, of course, but I've never heard her be accused of being that kind of person. I have heard her described as being really smart and observant, though. If you told her the stories we all learned, then the most you actually told her was about the treaty and the names 'Cold One' and 'vampire', Sam was really insistent and convincing.

Besides, Paul offered, even if she did 'pump you for information', it might not have been her idea: they can mind-blitz their prey, right? Maybe it was them using her to see how much the tribe knew or remembered about them.

That's actually not a bad idea, Sam considered. Then, Jared, how's Quil doing?

Trying not to freak out, Quil said, before Jared had a chance.

He's like a whirlwind of energy, Jared added. No way he'd be able to phase back yet.

Let's meet up and run this off, Sam decided. We can start showing you the patrol routes and stuff at the same time.

We all started running, the older wolves showing Quil and me how to use what we saw from them to figure out where they were and what was going on.

Hey, Sam?

Yeah, Jacob?

You know, just 'Jake' is fine. 'Jacob' makes me think I'm in trouble.

Okay. Yeah, Jake?

Ha-ha! Why didn't you want me to be mad at Bella for that day at the beach?

I got the feeling that this was something Sam hadn't been ready to get into just yet.

No, I don't want you to be mad at her, he replied. For one thing, I haven't seen anything that says she deserves it. For another, she's been hurt badly enough as it is. And then Sam thought about what she'd looked like the night he and the others had found Bella in the woods. Those images cut me to the core, and I started running faster in a vain effort to escape them.

Damn it, not again, Sam growled. Jacob, STOP! The force of the command had me skidding to a halt in a spray of leaves and forest clutter.

Sam got in front of me, nudging me with his muzzle until I looked up at him. She's fine now, Jake. You helped bring her back from that. You woke her up in the hospital, helped her smile and laugh again. Which is a third reason I didn't want you to be angry with her. I think Bella will be your imprint.

Imprint? What's that? I remembered a little something from science classes: about baby animals bonding with the first thing they saw after they were born, but I didn't think that made sense for here.

No, it doesn't, Sam's voice chuckled. Imprinting is what happens when a wolf finds his soul-mate, the woman who's perfect for him.

Before I could help it, all of my hopes and dreams about Bella blazed out for everyone to see and experience. I'd felt that she and I were meant for each other, and to get magical confirmation of it was like the icing on the cake. Anything would be worth having that. I couldn't wait to see her again and tell her everything.

You will be able to tell her everything, but not just yet.

Why not?

Because you need to get used to being a wolf first, Sam obviously caught my irritation. Jake, think back to earlier: how you got angry and phased.

Okay. So?

So what would happen if you got angry like that and Bella was close by? The last thing in the world you'd want is to hurt her, right? Imagination spun pictures of Bella, broken and bleeding on the ground, horribly scarred and disfigured.

No, I moaned. Never.

It won't happen, Sam agreed. But that means you have to get the wolf under control before you see her again. Then, just look into her eyes and— I could see in Sam's mind how one look at his imprint Emily had changed him, and Jared showed me how his world had shifted when he'd seen Kim for the first time after she'd come back to La Push at semester break last year.

Imprinting will change you in ways you can't imagine, Jared said. Sam's right, though—you don't want to hurt Bella, physically or any other way. Just because she seems to know about vampires doesn't mean she knows about anything else. And just because you'll be able to tell her all of it doesn't mean you should blurt it out all at once.

How do you feel now, Jake?

I just turned into a huge wolf tonight, Sam. How should I feel?

We've all been through this, too. We know it's not easy having your life turned upside down. But we're brothers now—any one of us will help you any way we can, the Alpha in Sam offered the assurance he saw Quil and I both needed.

I took a deep breath and tried to pull myself together.

Council's got to be waiting by now, Paul said.

I know, Sam told him.

The Council? Quil asked.

The tribal Council knows about the pack. They help us with stipends and advice.

My grandpa? He knew this was going to happen?

Yeah. A heavy sigh.

He didn't tell me anything!

Quil, he couldn't. No one could. That's the rule. Until someone actually phases, they aren't told anything.

Something hit me then. My dad knew, too, right? I didn't wait for the inevitable confirmation before I started running back home.

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AN: A little shorter than I usually like to give you, but I need to figure how to play out what I know comes next. So you get this now to give me time to plot, and so you don't have to wait. Enjoy. Reviews welcome. As a note, I'm considering a rating upgrade on this story. So if you're underage or opposed to the upgrade, give me some feedback so I can factor it into my decision process. I could always post the enhanced version of this elsewhere (like I did with "The Wolf and His Girl"), but I'm not sure if that's really how I want to do it or not.