CHAPTER NINE

(JPOV)

My anger and bitterness toward Bella was replaced with a rage directed toward Sam, and once the day was nearly through, I left Charlie's house and headed straight for the forest, my speed causing everything around me to become nothing more than a blur of movement, as I ran full tilt for La'Push with Bella's words fresh on my mind.

I didn't guard my thoughts. I was too pissed to even think that far out and it left me vulnerable to the others who were out on patrol. Luckily, our paths didn't cross. I couldn't remember the schedule or who was supposed to be covering for who this Christmas shift, my sole focus was getting to Sams house as fast as I could. He owed me an answer, and he was going to give it to me one way or the other. To hell with tradition. I couldn't wait till tomorrow.

All I could see was red.

I let out an enraged howl when I crossed the border, entering La'push and making it to Sams back yard in record time. My paws dug harshly into the heavy snow covered earth below, as I crept into the cover of the bordering tree's there, my fine tune hearing easily picking up on the commotion inside.

My father was there.

"Billy, it's great to have you with us, but I'm a bit surprised Jacob hasn't showed up here by now, seeing that you and Rachel are here." Sam stated.

"I tried calling him, but his phone went straight to voicemail. I thought maybe he was with you till I got here and saw he was nowhere in sight." Billy fretted in return.

"He sent me a message late last night about being over to Charlie's place with Sue. Something about her cooking them a meal. Maybe he decided to stay there longer than he thought?"

"Maybe...-" Billy sighed then. "As long as he's not alone this holiday, that's all that matters to me. Charlie, too. They both could use a change of pace this Christmas."

I phased back to human form and hurriedly pulled on my ragged cutoffs while staying hidden within the dense tree cover.

"Charlie got a nice Christmas tree from the lot in town, Billy. He ordered one for delivery. He was my last ticket on Christmas eve. I sent Jacob over there to drop it off for him." Sam clarified. "Figured the two of them could catch up. I know it's been a while."

"Yeah, Charlie doesn't get around like he used to. Keeps to himself a lot more these days. I bet it was good for them to chat about old times." Billy hedged. "Probably did them both a favor having Jake run the tree up for him like that."

My skin heated at this while I made my way closer to the house, pausing when the back door suddenly opened and my sister emerged there with Paul, the two of them too caught up in each other to even notice me at first. Rachel's eyes soon caught mine from the far off distance and she pushed Paul back, stopping him from kissing her again as she peered out my way.

"Jake! There you are! Dad was just talking about you. We were wondering if you'd show. Merry Christmas!" She chuckled, running over to meet me, her smile fading when she saw the expression I wore. "Hey- what's wrong? What happened?"

"Nothing, Rachel. Merry Christmas." I lied, glaring at Paul as he sauntered over next. Seeing him pawing all over my sister wasn't exactly my idea of a good time, but I put up with it for Rachels sake alone.

"There's still some honey glazed ham left if you're hungry, bro." Paul offered, his gaze narrowing further when he too took in my countenance there.

"I'm not hungry." I replied.

"What's going on, Jake? You looked pissed at the world." Paul shot back, exchanging a loaded glance with my sister in confusion.

"Yeah, what gives?"

"I need to speak to Sam." I forced out. "Can you get him for me, Rachel?"

"Sure...-" She hesitantly agreed before turning to head back inside with Paul trailing behind her.

I stood there in the snow at the end of the Uleys small drive, my head spinning from everything that had taken place in the last twenty-four hours. Sarahs innocent face rang a clear picture in my mind and I felt the heat weave up my spine again as Sam stepped out on the porch.

"Jake?"

"We need to talk, Sam. Alone."

He turned toward Emily, who had followed him out, their gazes now filled with concern as he kissed her on the cheek and swiftly headed my way.

The closer he got, the more I had to fight the overwhelming urge to punch him.

He was still my Alpha and I knew what significant weight that held for me, but I was so damn close to crossing that line right about now.

Sam stopped a few feet shy of me when he noticed the tremors I was unable to control.

"What's going on? I thought you were with Charlie and Sue?"

"...-and Bella." I finished, my sharp tone making him suck in a breath and square his broad shoulders.

The tension was thick in the air between us. We both could feel it. Authority and power rising up to clash against each other, like that of an invisible force we couldn't see, but one we knew was there.

"Don't even play-" Sam started in apparent disbelief. "Bella is-..."

"Alive and human. She's back in Forks with Charlie right now." I told him.

"How is that possible?" Sam hedged, with another step my way.

"Been a real eye opening Christmas for me, Sam. That's for sure."

He peered back over his shoulder, shooting a weary look toward the house still filled with holiday guests.

"Jake, this isn't the time for this." He then warned, only pissing me off further. "Whatever is going on, whatever happened, or whatever you need to discuss, we can surely do it in the morning."

"No-"

"Jake...-"

"We're doing this right now. I'm done waiting. Took all the restraint I had left to wait this long." I admitted.

"Fine, have it your way. So, she's back again and I'm sure she's brought the whole Cullen clan with her. Are they due to arrive shortly, too? I need to know how many more I have to add for patrol. I only have Jared and Quil out there now."

"That's not needed. She came without them."

"She's alone?" Sam scoffed. "Well, didn't see that coming."

"I'm sure you didn't." I snapped back. "I'm sure this wasn't the way you assumed things would pan out in the end, huh?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Bella didn't come back alone, Sam. She came back with our three year old daughter."

Sam froze at this, his whole body seeming to go as rigid as a statue made of stone as his dark eyes went to slits.

"What-..."

"Don't play dumb with me!" I half shouted, getting in his face and bringing us nose to nose.

"Careful, Jake...-" He warned. "Don't start something you won't finish. I'm sure she's filled your head right full of her lies, but I assure you, I don't know anything about-"

"You're the one who lied! You lied to both of us! She told me everything, Sam. Every detail of the story you spun to make her leave that night when she came back to Washington with Alice Cullen. I know about it all. The meeting you arranged, but never told me about. All of it!"

Sam didn't flinch as we remained locked there, the two of us on the verge of phasing as he stared back at me with equal challenge.

"I had my reasons." He finally countered.

I shoved him hard then, the push enough to send him backwards a few feet as he stumbled in the snow before regaining his footing.

"You're not even gonna try to deny it, huh!?" I seethed. "I thought you'd at least do that, Sam."

"Why would I waste my time trying? You came here wanting to confront me about the truth of what happened back then. Well, here it is, Jake. Bella did come back. She asked me to get a message to you, claiming she wanted to see you again. After she was married to Cullen. After her screwed up choices had already thrown you head long into one of the darkest times I'd ever seen you in. So yeah, when I caught Alice tip toeing around the border of our lands again, I nearly destroyed her and I would have had I not known she was with Bella. That knowledge was the only thing that stopped me from tearing her apart. I assumed she was back to drive that same old knife in a little deeper and you were barely hanging on then as it was."

"That wasn't your place!" I yelled in defense.

"It was every bit my place to send her back from where she came! Every damn bit! Being your Alpha is far more than just a title to me, Jake! It means I have your back and while you might not understand why I lied, I had a good reason for it! What purpose could she have had to come back and-"

"She was pregnant, Sam!"

The resounding silence that came from him then was deafening as my heated words echoed out off the surrounding tree tops for all those close enough to hear. Our exchange had gathered the attention of all inside his home now, including my father, who looked on in shock from the porch where Rachel, Paul and the rest of the pack stood bearing witness.

I watched as the mixture of regret, betrayal and disbelief filled Sams face, his eyes wide now as they looked into mine. I backed away, not in defeat or retreat, but in nothing more than heartbreak.

"Jake, I-...I- didn't know. She- that you'd-" Sam started to defend, but quickly thought better of it.

"That's why she came back. She was carrying my child, Sam. You would've known that had you done what you agreed to and told me about her, but you kept that to yourself. You lied and she left and I missed out on something I can never get back. Sarah is turning four this year."

I saw the looming regret grow worse in his gaze at the mention of the name.

"I did what I thought was best." Sam somberly stated, his angry tone from moments prior now full of nothing more than the kind of sobering emotion we rarely saw from him. "She was married to Edward. She'd made her choice and it wasn't you."

"Except it was." I corrected. "Her actions were done out of fear from the consequence. She made a promise to the Volturi in Italy to be changed. That was the only way they let her live that day."

"The Volturi?" Sam questioned. "The same leaders Carlisle spoke of when we fought alongside them in the newborn battle?"

"Same ones." I confirmed for him.

"You were severely injured after that fight, Jake. I never saw them, but Carlisle did later communicate their presence to me when he came to help you heal. We spoke briefly about their role in it all. He was half way convinced that they'd had a hand in the growing numbers from Victoria's army. He thought they allowed it, or at least some of them had."

"That wouldn't surprise me. I was in too much pain to remember much of that time."

"I remember it all. Very clearly! You almost died for her-"

"I stepped in for Leah, Sam!" I argued.

"They were there because of Bella. It wouldn't have happened at all had she chosen her actions differently. I'm sorry, but I hold her partially, if not entirely responsible for what almost happened to you that day. Your judgement was clouded and you weren't in your right mind. She knew that!"

"That doesn't justify what you did! You had no right!" I shouted, losing the grip on my cool once again.

"I had no way of knowing why she was back-"

"No, you didn't! You sent her away! You didn't even have the decency to tell me afterwards! At least then I could've tried to reach her somehow!"

"I'm sorry, Jake. I was only trying to help you move on the same way she had. The way I assumed she had anyway." Sam lamented. "When she asked to see you again, my only thought was how much more pain that would cause you in the end. She'd gone through with the wedding, you were gone for days a time after that in wolf form. Billy wasn't even sure we'd get you back!"

"Your interference was severely misguided, Sam. I deserved the truth from you! That was my pain to take on if I so chose it! It was my decision and not yours!"

"You were devastated then! We all knew she was going to be changed! We just didn't know when! Tell me how was I supposed to know everything was different!?"

"She came to me the night before the wedding." I admitted, glancing toward my father who looked ashen as he continued to listen with the others.

"You were gone!" Sam countered! "We didn't even know where you were!"

"I came back. A few hours before midnight. Bella showed up looking for me at dads. Told me she wanted to be with me. That she loved me. We spent the night together."

Another brief silence fell at this as I drew in a shaky breath while Sam shook his head.

"That was the last time you saw her?"

"Till now."

"Jake, I don't have words. Nothing I say will make what I did any better. I'm more sorry than you know. You're right, I shouldn't have meddled. Wasn't my place."

"Sarah doesn't even know I'm her father. She has no idea who I am. You played a huge part in taking that from me, Sam. I can't look past it and I don't know what that means going forward."

"You've lost respect for me. As your leader."

"...-and as my friend." I finished, as I turned and headed back for the woods, ignoring the sound of my sister calling to me while I phased and left La'Push.

A/N: Thanks for reading. Please review with your thoughts. Should Jacob forgive Sam?