Hello, darlings :) I told you I wasn't forgetting about this gem :) Here you have another chapter. Hope you like it!
Pack Souls.
It's over. It's starting.
How many times did Jacob tell her that being with him would be as easy as breathing? Not just because of the supernatural element and the fact that he was more human than supernatural, but because they matched together. They got along in a way they had never gotten along with anyone else. There was an easiness to their relationship. And hadn't she considered rewriting her fairytale when he was about to kiss her the day she jumped off the cliff?
She sat on her bed with a heavy sigh. Edward had just left with his brothers after joking about their day. She loved Edward so much. So why was it so hard to think about marrying him? Why, on the night before the day that was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, was she on the brink of tears? Thinking about a russet wolf with a goofy smile and soft lips.
She played with the wolf on her bracelet; it was a beautiful masterpiece made just for her. He had spent hours thinking of her and how to give her something simple that would represent him. Edward had given her a piece of jewelry belonging to his human mother. They both had the best of intentions.
But her eyes kept missing the heart and falling on the little wooden wolf. She missed Jake more than she had realized. It was not a matter of her wanting him to be a part of her wedding.
She jumped out of her bed as if it had electroshocked her. She didn't want Jacob to be a part of her wedding as a guest. She wanted him to be the groom.
She facepalmed herself. She had taken this beyond the line. Who was it that said, 'it's so far away from the line that you can't see the line?' Well, that was her.
She grabbed a small bag and started putting clothes in it. Once it was full enough, she left a note in the kitchen for Charlie and fired a quick text to Alice.
"Don't panic, don't say anything. I'm fine."
As always, Alice insisted on calling her. But she was not her priority right now. She had a wolf to catch. The best way to do that was to go to his house or Emily's and ask one of the wolves to call on him.
With a heavy heart but a clean conscience, she appeared on Embry's doorstep.
His eyes widened beyond what Bella thought was possible. He did as she requested, parts confused and parts hopeful that this meant what he thought it meant.
Jacob had never run so fast in his life. He didn't want to be a pet of the circus that Bella had chosen. But she was calling on him this night, the night before the worst day of his life.
He arrived back at La Push way past four in the morning. Bella was sleeping on the couch with a blanket and a pillow. Embry sat on the kitchen table.
"She didn't want the spare bedroom." He offered as an explanation. Jacob sighed. "It's good to have you back, Jake." Embry said, palming his shoulder before leaving the house and allowing his friends to have some privacy.
Jacob crouched next to the sleeping girl that had captured his heart, soul, and life.
He caressed her hair and whispered her name. She immediately jumped and sat, looking a little disoriented. When her eyes landed on Jacob, she launched herself at him. He lost balance and fell backward into the carpet.
She crashed her lips with his, truly happy for the first time in months.
…
…
They were lying on the floor, hugging each other as if their lives depended on it.
"I don't know why I let it come this far." She mumbled, feeling guilty.
Jake tensed and tried to sit, thinking she was talking about them.
She pushed him down and lied her head on his shoulder again. "Not us. Edward and I. I don't know why I clung so hard to him. Why I couldn't let go. In the end, I ended up hurting the both of you."
Jacob silently kissed her forehead and caressed her back. She cried silently on his shoulder.
He was thrilled that she had finally seen sense. But it was clearly hard for her, and it killed him to see her so sad. He thought the sad days were over; he didn't want a repeat of that.
"Are you sure you're making the right decision?"
It would kill him, but if she were doing this out of guilt, he would have to let her go and be happy. He realized now that her happiness was what he really wanted, be it with him or with the leach.
Bella sat up quick, still crying. "This is the only decision I've ever made that I'm one hundred percent sure of."
Just then, he noticed an important detail.
"Where's your ring?" He hated that thing, but when he told her, she got so defensive; this question might be like that again.
She sighed and laid down again on his shoulder. "I took it off and left it at home." She didn't offer any more information, and he respected that.
She was here, of her own volition, in his arms. He was happy.
…
…
Morning came too soon for their liking. They had moved from Embry's house to his. Billy had been none the wiser. They slept together (only slept), and it was the best night she had had in a long while. She could clearly remember that her sleep quality was way better before she fell in love with Edward and definitely before their trip to Volterra.
That morning, when Billy saw them together, he didn't say anything. He greeted them as if it were any regular morning, not the morning of her wedding. Her wedding to someone else.
"I have to go." She said shortly after coming out of the bedroom.
Billy kept quiet. He has interfered too much in her life. It was her time to do anything alone.
Jacob nodded; he knew she would refuse his offer of walking her to the leeches' den. So, he didn't offer.
"Will I see you later?" He was still unsure how this day would end. She couldn't blame him.
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you later."
…
…
…
When Bella made it to the mansion, Edward was nervously pacing outside the front door. Bella was going to break his heart, and it killed her to hurt him. She never wanted to hurt anybody. But it was always about Jacob or Edward; who would she choose? She chose to be happy, and coincidentally that was with Jacob. But this was her decision. She made it alone and not under pressure from anyone else.
As soon as Edward heard her, he relaxed, and at vampire speed, he had her in a hug. She was too stunned to hug him back. She hadn't noticed how much she hated vampire speed.
"Alice couldn't see you the whole night. What happened?"
Of course, he would have Alice looking into her future.
"I called Jake." She said, feeling the tears starting to come.
"Ok" he answered, unsure what else to say.
"He came back." She blushed. "I can't marry you, Edward." Now the tears were freely falling down. "I do love you, but I can't. I don't want this life. I don't know why it took me so long to come to terms with it. I never wanted to hurt anybody, and I ended up hurting you and Jake, and I ended up hurting myself." She cleaned her tears, but to no avail. They kept coming back.
"I was happy that you had come back to me, that you had decided to stay. But I had changed. I had new friends, friends that were there for me when you left, when you took everything from me without so much as a proper goodbye. You broke me, and my friends helped me pick up the pieces and build a new version of me. I was stronger, happy. But you took that away again, and for so long, I let you dictate the terms of my friendship with the wolves. And that is something that I can't believe I allowed. You're not my father. You don't get to say who is my friend or who is not. They are not dangerous. Not more than any of you are."
She took a deep breath and continued talking.
"They're my family as well. And I choose to be happy. Happy with the version of me I am the happiest with. I'm not perfect. But the Bella that would have married you today is not the real me. And I can't lose myself like that. Not again."
She took the ring from her pocket and a little pouch with the heart that had been hanging in her bracelet until yesterday and gave them to him.
"It was a pleasure knowing you and knowing what it's like to be loved." She took his hands in hers and prepared herself to deliver the last blow. "But love is not supposed to be controlling. Love is being free and walking side by side with someone. Being free together. You never let me be free." She retrieved her hands and allowed Edward to see what she had given him back.
"You're choosing him?"
She couldn't be mad at him for asking that question. From everything she said, he asked that. But he was allowed to.
"I love him too. And he made me happy. I pushed him aside for what I thought I wanted. It's not a matter of him or you anymore. I'm also respecting myself and listening to myself for the first time in two years."
He was about to say something else, but she stopped him.
"I'll make the necessary calls to cancel everything from today. Thank Alice for me, for everything she did."
At that moment, Alice opened the door. "I already canceled everything." This was news to Edward. "I assumed that the reason you still hadn't appeared in my visions now or that I couldn't see the wedding anymore was because you had changed your mind."
…
…
Bella arrived home feeling lightweight, free, but also a little bit sad. She almost screamed when Charlie's voice startled her.
"Bells?" He sounded confused. "What are you still doing here?"
She offered a small smile. "The wedding's off, dad."
He left the cup of coffee he was drinking on the table and walked to her. He took her by the shoulders and pulled her to him in a hug. Charlie was usually not a guy prone to show his love, he preferred other types of gestures, but at this moment, his hug felt like being wrapped in clouds. She needed her dad, and he was here for her.
She cried all she had wanted to cry since Edward left, all the pressure, the broken dreams, the broken heart, the discussions, the make-ups. She cried for Jake, for the hurting she caused him unnecessarily; she cried for herself and her stubbornness. She cried, and it felt amazing.
"Who called it off?" He whispered. "Does your mother know?"
They were now on the couch, sitting next to each other.
"I called it off." Because she was in love with someone else. "And I already texted mom." Renee and Phil were staying in the town's only hotel. At least now they could enjoy spending some actual time together as a family without any secret in the middle. She was excited to show her mom the reservation and the people that had made her feel at home. She wanted to officially introduce her to Jake.
"Why are you smiling like that?" He knew teenagers had mood changes, but this was another level.
"I'm happy, dad. I did what I had to do for myself."
Charlie hummed suspiciously, his mustache twitching. "Does this have anything to do with Jake's return?"
Charlie expected a surprised reaction; he expected her to jump up and run to see him. He did not expect her to blush and look away.
He laughed wholeheartedly, causing Bella to smile a little. Charlie was never the type to linger in bad feelings. He always wanted to make sure she was safe and happy. When Edward left, and the nightmares began, he tried many times to make her laugh (respecting her sadness simultaneously).
"I knew it. That kid can't stay away for too long." Then his mustache twitched again. "And neither can you, so it seems." Bella blushed harder this time, making Charlie's mirth rise.
"So, does this mean I don't have to wear that penguin's suit?"
Bella chuckled. "You can burn it if you want." She hated seeing her dad in that thing. It was so not him.
"Thank God!"
…
…
"I swear he laughed his ass off. I thought he was going to congratulate me or something." Jake chuckled with her. He was amused at Charlie's reaction. He knew he didn't like the leach, but Jacob never knew how much Charlie hated him.
"So…" He started, still unsure on how to proceed. She had broken off her engagement the day of the wedding. She had said she had feelings for him, but he didn't want to pressure her into a relationship with him so soon if she wasn't ready.
She was always very good at reading him. "I want to be with you. I don't want to waste any more time." She said, stepping closer to him.
He gathered her in his arms and spun her around, causing her to giggle. She had never looked more beautiful to him.
"I love you." He said. This time it was a promise. No hidden intentions.
"I love you, Jake." She answered before initiating a second kiss that day.