Over the next several weeks Jacob studied for the GED exam in between part time shifts at a mechanic shop in Forks. I spent most of my time at our house unpacking all of our stuff and decorating our little home before school started. Thankfully, the week before I started my internet classes my morning sickness faded.
Most nights I was able to keep my Edward wall in it's place. Occasionally though it would slip, I tried to hide it but I think Jacob could sense it, because those nights his love making was rougher and he seemed determined to make me forget everything but him. The next morning he would be a little distant and I would withdraw into my guilt. Jacob passed his GED exam and was offered a full time position at the mechanic shop.
As the months ticked by and my stomach finally started to show signs of the growing life inside it Jacob got more protective. It didn't help that the once a week Charlie came over for dinner he would tell us about a string of missing hikers in the area. So far they had only found one body. Jacob would barely let me out of his presence except when he was at work and even then he would call or text me every time he had a spare minute.
On top of the protectiveness Jacob became easily agitated and would snap at me over any little thing.
One night was particularly bad. He had come home unexpectedly late from work. I had tried to keep dinner warm but as the hours passed I gave up and left a plate of food on the table for him. I had fallen asleep on the sofa watching tv when he came stomping through the door. He slammed it shut and kicked his work boots off sending mud over the floor.
"Jacob, I just cleaned the floors."
"It's nice to see you too." He grumbled at me.
I grabbed the mop and started to clean up the mud.
"I work all damn day to support you and I come home to a cold dinner you just left on the table? It would be nice if you would at least attempt to make an effort here Bella." He glared at me.
"I didn't know you were going to be late. I tried to keep it warm but…" My hands gripped the mop tightly. I bit back my own temper because I knew from experience that only made it worse.
"Whatever, I guess I need to be a Cullen to get you to really care." He picked up his plate and stomped into the living room to sit in front of the tv.
I stared at his retreating back with my mouth open. I left the mop where it was and locked myself in our bedroom so he wouldn't see me crying. I heard him curse at the bedroom door before he stormed out of the house and didn't come back that night.
I had one of my nightmares that night. I hadn't had one that bad in at least 6 months. I woke up screaming, drenched in sweat. I started to get out of bed but I felt a stabbing pain in my stomach. Panic surged through my body. I yelled for Jacob but he didn't answer. I stumbled to the bedroom door and unlocked it. I looked around our small living room/kitchen area but he wasn't there. I tried calling his cell but it went straight to voicemail. Another pain shot through my stomach. I called Charlie.
"Bella?"
"Dad, Im sorry to call at this hour but I cant find Jake and…. OW, mother…!"
"Bella whats wrong?"
"I don't know. Im having shooting pains in my stomach. The baby…" I started to sob.
"I will come get you and take you to the hospital. Stay there."
Charlie pulled in front of the house in record time. He jumped out and helped me into the cruiser. He turned on the lights and sped to the emergency room. I was admitted and was hooked up to a machine that monitored the baby's heart rate. After a couple more pains they brought me down to the ultrasound tech. Charlie held my hand as we both watched the screen waiting for the baby to appear. When we finally saw it I squeezed Charlie's hand. I heard him sniffle. As we watched the baby on the screen I saw its heart beating and felt a little comforted.
After the ultrasound I was taken back to my room to wait on a doctor to come in and tell me what was going on. Charlie called Billy looking for Jacob. He wasn't there but Billy said he would try to find him. The doctor finally came in and told me that the baby looked fine. He said it was probably just my body adjusting to the growing baby. He asked me about my stress levels and advised me to try and reduce the amount of stress I was dealing with. I wasn't sure that was even possible, but I promised to try. They released me into my dad's care with instructions to take it easy for the next couple of days.
Charlie offered to drive me back to my house but I didn't want to be alone. He nodded and didn't press me to explain why I didn't know where Jacob was.
Charlie drove me to his house and helped me up the stairs to my old room. He tucked me in like he used to when I was a little girl. Then he went back to his own bed to get a couple more hours of sleep before he had to be at work. Thankfully I was able to go to sleep almost instantly. When I woke up sunlight was streaming brightly through the window. I stretched and slowly sat up. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and I jumped.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"Jake?" I stared at him trying to hide the hurt I felt from him disappearing.
"Bella, I am so sorry about last night. I should have been there. It's my job to take care of you and I messed up."
"Yes you did. We are married now Jake. You can't just up and disappear like that. Even if you are mad at me."
"Are you okay?"
"The baby is fine. Apparently the pain was from my body adjusting to the baby. They also said that I needed to avoid stress. Not sure how I am supposed to do that though."
"Bella, there are some things I need to tell you. It will explain where I was last night and why I have not really been myself lately."
"Ok. But can I get something to eat first?"
"Sure. Let me take you home and I will cook you a big breakfast." He smiled at me.
"Yeah, that would be nice."
When we got to our house I took a quick shower while Jacob made breakfast. When I came out of the bathroom Jacob had the table set and the food was ready. I sat down and filled my plate with eggs and bacon. He watched me eat for a couple of minutes before he started to talk.
"Do you remember the stories I told you on the beach when you came with your friends from school?"
I swallowed my food slowly. "About the cold ones?"
"That wasn't the only story I told you about, although I understand why that is the first one you would think of."
My forehead scrunched up as I tried to remember what other stories he had told me. "Wolves, the Quiluetes are descended from wolves."
He nodded. "Yes. I always thought they were just silly stories but they aren't."
I sat my fork down. "What?"
"Its all true. The story of the cold ones, their treaty with my tribe, the story of members of the tribe transforming into wolves." He watched me as I tried to process what he was saying.
"Are you… How do you know? What does this mean?"
"Last night the reason I didn't come home wasn't because I was mad after we had a fight. I was upset yes and I know I have been on edge the past couple of weeks. I haven't treated you like I should and I am sorry. I don't ever want to hurt you."
"Where were you last night Jake?"
"I was upset with myself for how I acted and I could hear you crying through the bedroom door. I went for a walk to clear my head but I was feeling really sick and then I phased into a wolf. I started to freak out, Sam found me and helped me through it."
"Jake, I…" I didn't know what to say or how to respond. It was hard to wrap my mind around. But I knew about the existence of vampires so was it really that far fetched that werewolves could also exist?
"I know its hard to believe. I couldn't believe it myself at first. After you finish breakfast I would like to take you to Sam and Emily's place so I can show you." His eyes pleaded with me.
I got up from my seat and walked over to him. Jacob watched me curiously. I sat down on his lap and wrapped my arms around him. "It doesn't matter to me what you are Jake. I love you."
I felt his wide grin against my forehead.
"Bella" Jacob whispered. He stood up, lifting me into his arms and carried me to the bedroom. He kissed away the memories of the harsh words he had spoken to me and caressed the hurt away as he made love to me. Afterwards he held me gently and played with my hair. All too soon he pulled away and we both got dressed. He drove us the short distance to Sam's house. He let Sam explain the history of the tribe and all about the werewolf gene. He shared his story with me. I found the imprinting part interesting, the way he described how he felt for Emily reminded me of how I had felt about Edward.
I bit my lip painfully when he talked about their main purpose was to kill vampires that came onto their land.
"But there aren't any vampires in the area anymore." I watched as Jacob and Sam exchanged a look.
"The missing hikers that your father is investigating are all victims of at least one vampire, maybe two." Sam gave me a minute to process this new information.
"Have you seen them?"
"Just one so far. Although there is a second whose smell has mingled with the one we have seen."
"What does the vampire you have seen look like?"
"She is pretty unremarkable to us. Except for her bright red hair. We keep chasing her off and she keeps coming back. We haven't figured out what she wants yet."
I fought back the bile that was in my throat. "I know what she wants."
Jacob and Sam both watched me with an intensity that almost scared me. Jacob was physically vibrating in his seat and his hands were clinched into tight fists.
"She's after me." I whispered barely loud enough for them to hear me.
"JAKE OUTSIDE NOW!" Sam commanded.
I watched in shock as Sam dragged Jacob out of the front door of the house. Emily was by my side instantly as I stood and walked to the front door. I started trembling as I watched Jacob's clothes rip into shreds as his body impossibly transformed into a large angry russet colored wolf. Sam had already transformed into an even larger black wolf and was guarding the house. Their growls hurt my ears they were so loud. Finally, Jacob seemed to calm and he looked over Sam's furry black shoulder at me. Sam moved out of the way and allowed Jacob to step towards the porch of the house.
I felt like everyone's eyes were on me to see how I would react. I slowly walked to the edge of the porch and stared into the wolf's… Jacob's eyes. I slowly reached my hand towards him. He came a little closer and I gently caressed his muzzle. He nosed my hand and I smiled at him. I walked down the steps of the porch and cautiously wrapped my arms around his furry neck. He rested his big head against mine and it felt like he was purring.
"I love you Jake. No matter if you are a big furry dog."
He made a sound like a laugh. He nosed my hand again and turned and walked with Sam to the edge of the forest. After that afternoon I was not allowed to leave La Push without Jacob or Sam. At night while I slept Jacob would leave to run patrols with the pack. There were 5 so far, Jacob, Sam, Jared, Paul and Embry. There was always one close by to keep watch over me while Jacob was on patrol.
Sometimes during the day when I got bored of homework I would walk to Sam and Emily's. I liked Emily, she was always calm and it helped me to stay calm. We would work in her garden and afterwards sit on the porch sipping lemonade.