A/N: Ahhhh! I've updated! LOL. I'm a terrible person for leaving this for so long, and I have no excuses, so instead of rambling on, I'll just let you read the second to last chapter. Yep! Epilogue will be next! For all of you who're still with me... THANK YOU! You're superstars!

Big love to my beta: plainjanedee

8. Won't Lose You ~ TBW

"…I'm late." Bella's entire body froze at those crippling words; the colour drained from her face as the blood surging through her veins ran ice cold. "Wha—what did you just say?"

Placing a protective hand over her stomach, an excited smile lit up Emily's face. "I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant." No. No. It wasn't possible. He'd never… Oh god.

Stumbling backwards, Bella's hand hastily reached out and grabbed the doorframe, her nails digging into the wood as she struggled to steady and calm herself. Mirroring the woman who'd helped destroy her world, she cradled her hand over her stomach. "Get out," she whispered, utterly devastated.

"Bella?" Emily questioned, confused.

With her heartache rapidly morphing into blood boiling, all-consuming, white-hot rage, Bella gathered her strength and speared the woman with a deadly glare. "Get out! Get out! Get the fuck out of my house!" She roared, picking up an empty vase and launching it at the wall.

Eyes wide with fear, Emily gasped and spun on her heel. Darting toward her car, she yanked the door open, leapt into her vehicle, before racing off and into the distance. Good fucking riddance.

Slamming the door so hard that the windows rattled, Bella collapsed to the floor as anguished tears streamed down her face. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she sobbed quietly to herself, slowly swaying to and fro as her heart splintered in her chest. There was no going back now. There couldn't be. It was one thing to betray her, but to impregnate his mistress? No, she couldn't move past that.

Sniffling, she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and pushed herself up from the floor. Walking into the living room, she grabbed her cell, and with a trembling finger, she quickly called Leah.

"Bella? You okay?" Her friend's concerned greeting made it hard for her to maintain her composure.

Closing her eyes, she swallowed hard. "L—Lee, can I come stay with you for a few days? I'm leaving him and I need a place to go."

~TBW~

"Bells, honey, you home?" Jake called out, closing the door behind him. With a bouquet of lilies in hand, he expelled a long sigh of exhaustion, and shrugged off his jacket, placing it on the hook by the door. The day had been pure fucking hell and all he'd wanted to do was go home, hold his beautiful wife and make love to her until everything else faded away.

Silence greeted him as he scrubbed a hand over his face, before making his way into the kitchen. "Baby?"

Setting the flowers on the countertop, he turned and scanned the room. The house he and Bella had made their home was too quiet—eerily quiet. Checking his watch, he groaned and muttered an annoyed curse as he saw the time. 11:37PM

"Fuck," he swore as he raked a tired hand through his hair. Realising that she was probably in bed fast asleep, he leaned against the counter and closed his eyes. After the way things had been left between them that morning, he seriously doubted that she'd want to be around him, but as much as he'd always tried to respect her wishes, this was one he couldn't. She was his wife, his missing piece, his soul mate, and knowing that she was mad at him drove him batshit crazy. All day he'd felt as if a part of him was missing—the best part. And now he'd returned to a cold and quiet home. Double fuck.

Expelling a heavy breath, Jake pushed off the counter and checked the oven, needing something to eat. Usually, when he came home late from work, Bella left his plate in the oven, ready for him to reheat. Not this time. Confusion speared through him as he quickly checked the microwave—empty. Fuck, he had some serious making up to do. There were some leftovers in the fridge, so he put the container in, carelessly threw it into the microwave, punched in a time, and then hit start.

Turning back, he reached for a clean glass on the draining board, grabbed a fork from the drawer, and poured himself a big glass of milk. As the microwave pinged from behind him, he carefully took the container from the microwave. Stirring the food with his fork, Jake then took his milk and food into the dining room to sit at the table.

That's when he saw the note.

As soon as his eyes landed on it, the hairs on his neck stood up and his blood ran ice cold.

No longer giving a shit about his food, he set his dish and glass down, never once taking his eyes off the folded slip of paper.

His heart raced in his chest, and he was practically fucking panting as he felt his palms start to sweat. Swallowing thickly, Jake tried to make himself reach out and touch it, but, fuck, something felt so off and he just couldn't understand yet why he was reacting like this.

Pushing the plastic container of food away from himself, he sat down and forced his hand to touch the paper.

He opened it and read the words Bella wrote. As his eyes scanned the page, his entire body started trembling.

Dear Jake,

Jake,

Lying Cheating Bastard,

I'm sorry, but I'm done. I'm done pretending that we're still a couple. I'm done pretending that I don't know you're out fucking another woman when you tell me you're working late. I'm done making dinner for you while you take your whore out to a nice restaurant. I'm done believing you when you say you love me. How could you do this to me, Jake? How could you do this to us? I don't even know who the fuck you are anymore. The man I've loved my whole life, the man I married, would have never betrayed me, and I can't pretend you're him any longer.

Obviously, you don't have the balls to just tell me you're done with me, so I'll make it easy for you. Enclosed you'll find my wedding and engagement bands; do with them what you will, sell them for all I fucking care because I'm done with you. I'll come back for the rest of my stuff when you're not around. That should be easy to schedule, since you're never around anymore. Fuck you, Jake. Fuck you, fuck your whore and fuck this joke of a marriage.

Expect divorce papers from my attorney. I want this to be over with as soon as possible.

Your future ex-wife,

Bella.

Breathing hard, Jake squeezed his eyes shut as he shook uncontrollably; his fingers clenched around the piece of paper that'd just ripped his heart to shreds. With his chest heaving, he angrily balled up the note then tossed it across the room. "Fuuuuck!" he roared, gripping his hair.

Falling to his knees, an unbearable heat licked up his spine, and his muscles started contracting with pain. Agonised screams escaped his clenched jaw, and felt like his insides were ablaze. The bones in his shoulders and hips started to feel like they were being pulled apart.

Realising what must be happening, he mustered all his strength to pull himself up against a chair, and pushed up onto his feet. Throwing himself towards the back door, and pulling it open he nearly ripped it from the hinges. Stumbling through the opening, he urged himself to make it to the tree line. Groaning from the screams he tried to choke back, he fell to the ground, a few feet from the tree line. He crawled the rest of the way, pulling himself a few feet in, to make sure he wouldn't be seen. He rolled onto his back and just let the pain take him. He writhed on the ground, shouting his agony into the night, until he mercifully lost consciousness.

~TBW~

"Fuck, man, he's out cold." A deep, gruff voice pulled Jake out of the black pool of unconsciousness.

Jesus Christ. He felt like he'd been hit by a freaking freight train.

"Quiet, Lahote," Sam's voice replied firmly.

Groaning, Jake's whole body ached as he attempted to stretch. "What the fuck happened?" He rasped, slowly sitting back against the headboard and cracking his neck to the side.

"You wolfed out, Black."

Jake's jaw dropped and his eyes widened in disbelief. "Fuck..." Finally.

Grinning cockily, Paul sat back in the chair in front by the bed and folded his arms over his chest. "Welcome to the pack, Black."

Pushing off of the door jamb, Sam explained, "Whatever happened between you and Bella tonight must've triggered your Wolf gene and caused you to phase. When you changed back, we brought you back here."

Jake's heart plummeted at the mention of his wife's name. An agonised sigh left his lips as his head hung heavily between his shoulders. "She left me, Sam. She fucking left me," A strangled choke tore from his throat as her heart-breaking words replaying in his head. "I can't survive without her, man. She's my fucking life, and now because of all this horseshit, I've lost her!"

Placing a sympathetic hand on Jake's shoulder, Sam empathised, "She's hurting, Jake, but she'll come around. She loves you, just...give her time."

Jake's head shot up, pinning his so-called friend with a murderous glare. "Time?! How the hell can I give her time? She hates me, man! Fuck. She said she wants a divorce..." his words faded off as the weight of what had happened bore down on him. "I love her, Sam. I'm not me without her. I need to find her and beg her to take me back."

"Trust me, I get you, I do. But listen to me when I say to give her tonight. Let her calm down. She's with Leah right now, just let her get some sleep and go to her in the morning, okay?"

Jesus. How in God's name was he meant to go an entire night without her? Panic clawed at his heart as he thought about how she must've been feeling. Expelling an irritated breath, he closed his eyes. His heritage had a lot to fucking answer for. He wouldn't lose the woman he loved over this. Hell fucking no. He'd fight it tooth and nail. Come hell or high water, she'd be back in his arms, and this time, he wasn't letting her go. However, until then... "Fine. But first thing tomorrow morning, I'm gonna be banging down Leah's door like a man possessed."

TBW~

"Bells, baby... I know I'm the last fucking person you wanna talk to, but ...please just call or text me? I—I... shit, I need to know you're ok. You're my entire world, you know that, right? I'm...fuck. I'm so freaking lost without you, angel. I love you. So, so much."

"Goddammit!" Jake raged, launching his cell into the wall of their bedroom. Fifteen fucking times. Fifteen times he'd called and every single time he'd gotten her voicemail in response. She wasn't answering his texts and now she wasn't answering his calls. Christ, he was going out of his damn mind.

Jake knew that he'd promised Sam he'd give her time, but holy shit, being away from her was harder than he'd imagined. It was tearing him up inside. His appetite was non-existent, and sleeping in their bed, surrounded by her intoxicating scent just wasn't an option. Here, in their home, everywhere his eyes landed was another memory of their life together, another reminder that she belonged here but wasn't. Put simply it was - Pure. Fucking. Hell.

Distraught, he picked up the note Bella had left behind, he dragged his lifeless form to their backyard. "Fuck!" Jake roared into the night before slamming his fist into the nearest tree.

The anger he felt, the red-hot rage that spread throughout his chest, taking over his mind as he leaned his heavy body against the tree, was overwhelming. It consumed him.

How the hell had this happened?!

How had his life changed so drastically within the span of a few weeks?

Two weeks ago, Jake's life was perfect. He had a beautiful, wonderful wife who was just as eager as him to try for a child. Friends that were loyal to the bone. An auto-repair shop that was thriving, and a mother and father that were happily married after thirty-five years, and then BAM! Because of the freaky fucking gene that had unfortunately been passed down from his ancestors, he was on the verge of losing the most important thing in his life.

His wife.

"Shit!" he yelled, pushing himself away from the tree and pacing rapidly over the mossy forest floor.

Crumbling the letter that had been the messenger of the absolute worst news he'd ever had in his life, he brought his hands to his head, raking his fingers through his hair helplessly.

He needed to get his shit together and sort this out before she walked out of his life for good, but as much as he tried to see through the red haze, all he could picture was her haunting words: I'm done.

A tortured, strangled cry of agony tore from his lips as his knees buckled from under him and he hit the ground with a loud thud.

Nothing made sense.

Jake couldn't understand any of it.

Why him?

Why them?

They were so happy, so why the fuck did this have to happen?

Images of their life together began to flash before his eyes like a slideshow: the first time they met, their first date-how nervous he'd been asking for a first date. Their first kiss, the first time he'd made love to her on the tail of his pickup by the cliffs and under the glow of the stars; it might not've been his best idea, considering that fact she shook in his arms for a large part of their lovemaking, from the sharpness of the air, but it was perfect to them.

Then there was the first time she introduced him to her parents, and vice versa. She was nervous as hell to meet his mom and dad, but he couldn't wait. Jake knew that his parents would love Bella. He'd known from day one, and he wasn't wrong. They adored her; so much so, his old man took him to one side and demanded to know when he was gonna slip a ring on her finger. Funny thing was, he was already planning on asking her that night, and that's exactly what he did. Jake drove them to the dock where they'd first met and went down on one knee, asking her to marry him.

It was the happiest moment of his life to date when she'd said yes.

And then this happened.

This... anger.

Constant, pure, unchained and uncontrollable rage.

He wasn't sure what the hell was going on or why he was so whacked out, but one thing was for damn fucking sure: he wasn't losing his wife.

Not for his heritage.

Not for anything.

Collapsing in on himself, Jake's body tumbled to the earthy ground as a fierce unwavering slice of agony shot through his entire body, rendering him motionless, and for the first the since he was a child... he cried.

"Bells," he croaked, his voice nothing more than a tortured plea as tears of fear streamed down his cheeks. "I love you, baby... please don't leave me."

~TBW~

Bang, bang, bang.

Bella roused from her restless night's sleep on Leah's couch to the sound of her husband yelling and practically banging down her friend's front door.

"Leah!" He yelled, his fist pounding on the wood. "Open this motherfucking door!"

"Jesus Christ!" Leah hissed, wrapping the tie to her robe around her waist, whilst squinting from the harsh early morning sun rays beaming through her blinds. Throwing open the door, she speared a lethal glare toward the culprit. "Are you fucking kidding me?! It's not even seven in the goddamn morning!"

Stood on the opposite side of the door was a man who was once the person Bella would've died for. With his stance rigid and taut, his hands were balled into fists by his sides and his nose flaring, he ground out, "Don't give a flying fuck how early it is, I need to speak to my wife."

"Oh, so now she's your wife, huh?" Leah challenged, cocking her hip sassily and folding her arms over her chest. Bella couldn't help but smile at her friend. Stubborn bitch. "Maybe you should've remembered that when you dipped your dick in that two-faced bitch!"

Growling, Jake worked his jaw, attempting to keep himself in check. Something he always did when he was trying to calm himself down. "Leah, I won't ask you again. You either move aside so I can see my girl, or I'll make you move. Either way, you're moving."

"Lee," Bella interjected from her position on the couch. "It's okay, let him in." Jake's eyes softened lovingly as they found hers. The sheer pain that met her gaze almost made her heart stop. Be strong, Bella.

Shooting her a disapproving look, Leah shook her head. "Don't fall for it, Bella. He's a fucking liar and deserves to be castrated for what he's done to you."

Sitting up, Jake's gaze remained locked on her as she wrapped the thin blanket around herself, keeping her warm. "I'm not falling for anything, I just need to discuss a few things with him."

"Fine," she muttered, moving aside, narrowing her eyes hatefully at Jake. "But if I hear her sniffle even once, your ass is dead, motherfucker."

For effect, she slammed the door before stomping out of the room. As he stood before her, sad and alone, he reminded her of a lost little boy. With his eyes shimmering with unshed tears, he whimpered before finally falling to his knees and burying his face in her stomach. "I'm so, so fucking sorry, baby. I swear to god, I never meant for any of this to happen."

She sucked in a harsh breath and bit her lip to stop herself from crying. Oh god, it was true. "So it's true?" her voice was barely a whisper. "You've been having an affair?"

His head shot up and he recoiled as if he'd been slapped. "Affair? Fuck. Hell no, baby. I know I've been acting a little... different the past few weeks, but I need you to believe me, Bells. You are my girl. You are the only woman I want. Ever. Christ, even the mere thought of being with another woman makes me feel physically sick." He shuddered as a disgusted look morphed across his face. Taking Bella's hands in his, he continued. "I'd rather cut my own dick off than ever be with anyone else, angel, you have to believe me." He peered up at her with desperate, pleading eyes.

Bewilderment coursed through her veins. "Then why have you been so distant and secretive?"

Rising up onto his knees so his face was level with hers, Jake cupped her cheeks. "There is a reason, but please trust me when I tell you, I'm not cheating. I love you too much, Bells. I wouldn't risk losing the best thing that's ever happened to me, not when I have everything I've ever wanted right here, in my arms. You're my dream, baby, don't you get that?"

Prying her face our of his touch, Bella shifted backwards and climbed off of the couch. Walking over to the window, she placed a contemplative hand on her forehead. "But I saw suspicious texts on you cell! I fucking called the number on the night of our anniversary and Emily freaking Uley answered! I found a receipt to the most popular restaurant in town in your jean pocket!" She threw her hands in the air, exasperated.

"You've lied to me about being at work, I know because I've gone to bring your dinner and guess what? You were not fucking there! So tell me what the fuck is going on, Jake, because I swear I'm so ready to call time on us."

Bella knew that putting space between them would kill her husband, so she wasn't the least bit surprised when he came up behind her, not quite touching, but she could feel his body heat through her clothes. Even with her back to him, she could tell he was fighting the urge to reach out and hold her, envelope her in his arms.

"Baby—"

Spinning around, Bella held up her hand and pinned him with a glare. "Don't. Don't baby me. Not until I find out the truth!"

With a panicked and pained look in his eyes, Jake exhaled and heavy breath, before answering, "It was Sam, Bells. The texts, the calls, the receipt—it was all Sam. He's-he's been helping me deal with some information I've recently discovered about my heritage."

"Sam?" Bella repeated, puzzled. "The number I dialled was labelled unknown on your cell. If you were with Sam all along, why wouldn't you save his number? I mean, your friends for Christ sake, and the guy works with you!"

"He got a new cell recently. He damaged it at work, so he had to get one on the fly because of work. I've just had so much on my fucking mind that I haven't had chance to save it," he explained.

As Bella stood before him, things began to click into place. Emily was Sam's wife, so if that was his number, it would only make sense for Bella to hear Emily's voice in the background. "Oh, my god."

"I know I've fucked up on an epic scale, but I swear to you, Angel, never in a million years would I ever hurt you," Jake rasped, his voice thick with emotion. "I'd rather die than hurt you." He laid a hesitant hand on her hip. "Please, baby, let me hold you. This is killing me."

Tears stung the backs of her eyes as she caved in and gave him a quick, stern nod.

Not wasting any time, he mumbled, "Thank fuck," before hauling her into his arms and clutching onto her tightly. Burrowing his face in her neck, Bella felt her husband release a sigh of relief. "I've missed you so much, Bells," his tone was strangled as he choked back his tears. "Come home, baby, please. I can't breathe properly without you by my side."

Her throat constricted painfully as a lone tear streamed down her cheek. "Promise me," she sniffed as he lovingly wiped the wetness away. "Promise me there won't be anymore lies or secrets. I can't do this unless we're completely honest with each other."

Blood drained from his face as his body stiffened. "Before I make that promise, I need to explain something to you. But I need you to do one thing for me before I start."

Narrowing her eyes, she responded, "What?"

Dipping his trembling hand into his pocket, he pulled out her engagement and wedding bands. "Put these back on, please, Bells. Don't give up on us—on me. There are gonna be a lot of changes and our lives are going to be different now-that's if you still wanna be with me after I've told you why I've been meeting with Sam." The sadness and vulnerability in the way he spoke told her just how scared he was of losing her.

Taking the rings from Jake's hand, Bella slid them onto her wedding finger. "Now, tell me, Jake. I deserve to know the truth."

Gulping hard, he nodded and lead her toward the couch. "You might wanna sit down for this."

Fear gripped her heart. Oh, God.

"Do you remember one Halloween night a few years ago, when we were telling each other freaky stories? I was telling you about the legend of my tribe?"

Bella nodded slowly. "The Cold Ones."

"Turns out those legends are more than just legends…they're real," Jake paused for a second to gauge her reaction. When she stared at him blankly he knew he needed to keep going. "The Quileutes are descendants from wolves, Bells."

"Wolves," she echoed, stupidly. Jake could only nod in response. "So…are you trying to tell me that you're a…" God, she couldn't even wrap her head around this new information enough to finish her sentence.

"I'm a wolf, Bells," he admitted quietly, his eyes lowered toward the floor. "I phased last night after you left. That's why I've been with Sam a lot. Something was changing inside me and I needed to know what. He figured something was going on with me and clued me in."

"Holy shit," she breathed, utterly shocked. "How do you… I mean how do you phase…? Can you control it or is it triggered?"

"At the moment it happens when I'm angry, but Sam's gonna teach me to control it so I'll only phase when there's a threat nearby."

"A threat?"

"The Cold Ones. They're supposedly descendants from an enemy clan. My great grandfather, the chief, found them hunting on our land—or at least that's what I've been told. They claimed to be something different, so we made a treaty with them."

"A treaty?"

"A line separating our land from theirs. If they ever crossed it, we'd take them out and expose their truth to the pale faces."

"Pale faces?"

Jake glanced at Bella knowingly. "Oh," she mumbled, piecing it together. "Awesome."

"Yep," he muttered, popping the 'p'. "So… I know this is really out there but I swear every word is the truth. Now that you know, how do you feel?" He asked, warily.

Scoffing, Bella stood and ran a hand over her neck. "How do I feel? My husband's just informed me that he's a wolf and the legends of his tribe are real. I don't know what I feel. I guess I'm okay. A little freaked out, maybe. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's nothing compared to how you felt when you found out."

"You have no fucking idea," he chuckled.

"Well, since we're confessing things. I guess I need to come clean about something, too."

"Okay…"

Sitting down next to her husband, she laced her fingers with his and placed them against her stomach. "I know you've probably been told more information in the past few days and hours to last you a lifetime, but I have just one more." She smiled and bit her lip. "I'm pregnant, Jake. I found out yesterday."

"Clearwater!" Jake roared, his face reddening with rage. Bella backed away a little, surprised by his reaction. She'd figured he'd be happy...

"What?" Leah seethed, appearing in the doorway, looking equally as mad.

"You let my pregnant wife sleep on your fucking couch?!"

"She fell asleep there after crying her eyes out all freaking night because of your lying ass! What did you want me to do? Disturb her?!"

"You should've called me!"

"She didn't want to see you, asswipe. Hence the reason for her being here. If I'd have called you she would've been stressed out. Do you really think that would've been good for your unborn child?"

"Guys, seriously, enough. All this arguing isn't getting us anywhere."

"It's making me feel better," Leah huffed. "Its about time I got to chew his ass out. Do you have any idea what you've put her through?!"

""Lee, please?"

"Whatever!" She exploded before snapping her gaze to Jake. "You ever hurt her again, and I'm coming for you. That's my best friend standing there and she's carrying precious cargo, so just… take care of them, okay?"

Turning to face Bella, his face softened into a blinding smile. "I'll protect them both with my life. Don't have to worry about that. Anyone tries to hurt my family and I'll fucking decimate them. End of story."

With tears of happiness filling her eyes, she laughed and gripped his top. "You're not mad?"

Shaking his head at her foolishness, Jake framed her face and pressed a loving kiss to her lips. "Mad? No, Bells, you just made me the happiest guy alive. My beautiful wife's going to have my son. Doesn't get any better than that."

Closing her eyes, Bella snuggled up to her guy. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she jokingly murmured into his chest, "Son? What if the baby's a girl?"

Groaning, Jake kissed the top of her head as he held his wife close. "Yo, Leah? Know where I can buy a shotgun?"