*DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to the Twilight Saga and it's characters. This is purely artistic fiction drawn in inspiration from Stephanie Meyers words.

*This story features dark Edward.

* Jacob maintains his pre-wolf personality, but a little animosity with his transformations.

*Includes a stronger Bella arc.

*The timeline begins after the infamous cliff jump incident in New Moon and divulges from the original.

*Quileute wolves do not imprint on anyone unless both parties are at least 18. There are NO huge age gaps (ex. 4 and 16), and it happens between anyone regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

*Quileute wolves also do not cut their hair out of respect for their personal and spiritual beliefs. It does not affect their transformations.

*There will be warnings for certain chapters that contain disturbing imagery that some may find triggering.

*The timeline is altered slightly here; Jacob meets Bella's friends in this chapter.

JACOB POV

After Bella left the truck, I watched her trip twice over her own two feet walking towards the front entrance of the school. I saw that pasty wuss of a kid, the one that totally third-wheeled our movie date, awkwardly struggle to open the door for her. My mouth formed into a tight line, and I gripped the steering wheel hard enough where my knuckles turned a shade lighter than rest of my skin. I didn't want him touching her; I trusted that she'd rebuff him if he tried any funny business. Bella seemed to ignore his act of "chivalry", gave a curt nod in his direction and continued inside. Leah interrupted my partially jealous monologue.

Why do I have to babysit her at school? It's a public place. And it's the middle of broad daylight, Jake. She'll be fine. This is a waste of time.

Listen Leah, while the school is public—we don't know if the red headed leech would risk attacking here. Sam said she's crafty. I know you don't like the idea of protection duty but please do this for me. I won't be gone for too long.

Ugh. Just hurry up already, slobber-breath.

I put the truck into drive, pulling out of the parking lot and headed back to Charlie's place to drop it off. Once there, I snuck into the woods surrounding the back of the house. After making sure I was out of sight, I hastily removed my clothes and left them in a neat stack on top of a boulder that was parallel to Bella's bedroom window. I planned to change into new ones when I got to Emily's. Old habits forced me to always keep an extra outfit there. I pictured the red head and envisioned a fake mental scenario. One where she tried to hurt Bella. The very thought unleashed my inner, hidden rage. Right before phasing, an immense pressure enveloped my mind and body. A ring of black darkened my vision until the change completed. The feeling of anger subsided once I shifted.

I ran at a full sprint into the deep woods, listening carefully to all of the wildlife and nature surrounding me. My paw pads hit the dirt and moss-covered trails in heavy bursts. The red-stained sun hung low in the sky and crept into the thick canopy of pine trees that stretched high above me. I stood still on the peak of a baren cliff for a few minutes, basking in the invigorating light of morning. The warm breeze floated idly up the bank and sifted through my thick fur. All of my senses were sharpened, unrivaled. I could see the smallest outcropping of oak trees in the far distance, hear the quietest footsteps of deer miles away, and even smell the faint scent of hamburger from a diner on the outskirts of Forks. When I was on four legs, life was beyond comparison. Every single atom in my body was amplified. In this form, I was dexterous, stronger—consummate. I was born to be a wolf.

I finished the rest of my run, sluggishly grabbing the other set of clothes outside of Emily's house. Standing upright on two legs was nauseating at first but months of phasing prepared me to handle it better each time. I changed slowly so I didn't deplete my dwindling energy. As I reached the porch to Emily's, I noticed Embry was sitting in one of the metals chairs right beside the front door. He shot upwards with the sound of my heavy footsteps on the wooden walkway, almost falling flat onto the ground. I caught him off-guard, probably trying to catch some sleep.

"Hey, man, what's the word?" He asked, leaning backwards in the chair. He covered a yawn and rubbed his eyes. There was no hiding the dark circles under them. I had them too up until recently.

"Well, it's true. There are two packs now, and a lot more. C'mon, let's head inside. I'll tell you all about it," I pulled him into a half hug as a greeting, he followed me through the doorway. I was met with Sam's grumpy mood and a tired Seth sprawled out on the length of the couch. I had guessed Paul, Jared and Quil were out patrolling—shift change. I didn't miss that. Sam nodded in greeting; his arms were firmly crossed over his chest.

"Jake," he said, flippantly. Seth bounced off the back of the sofa from his prone position and ran to me. I wrapped my arm around his head, ruffled his already disheveled hair and gifted a big hug. Once I was satisfied with the fluffy mess it was becoming, I allowed him to think he was winning.

"Hey! What's up, man?" Seth greeted, struggling under my hold. I let him go for the moment.

"Hey, Seth," I replied, nonchalantly waving to Sam. I turned towards him, not looking forward to our conversation. "So, I spoke with the elders, and I got some info. You're not gonna like it. There's a lot."

"Yeah? Go on, I'm sure it's not as bad as I'm thinking." Sam braced himself, his brows knitted together out of concern.

It was strange seeing him without Emily. She must have gone to the store to buy more food for the other walking garbage disposals. She held the respectable title of resident wolf tamer and volunteer pack chef. Those were full-time jobs on their own. However, during most of the days of the week, she was a nurse at the hospital on the reservation. If anything serious ever happened, I wouldn't worry about my life in her capable hands.

"Embry's guess was right. Yesterday, when I got angry at Paul, I activated the alpha gene dormant inside me," I deliberately looked away from Sam in that moment, hoping he wouldn't be torn up about me using that word so brazenly. He was usually modest but could be prideful about his status.

I inhaled abruptly, "essentially, I split the pack into two separate ones. Mine and yours."

My hands relaxed, straightening from fists, "old Quil agreed with your suspicions. He thinks the red headed leech is making a coven, that more wolves will join us soon and last but not least—that a war is coming." I turned to lock eyes with Sam, "Bella said she will ask Alice, one of the Cullen's, if she can see what the Seattle bloodsuckers are up to. Apparently, she can see the future or something like that."

Sam's jaw hung open in surprise. He was silent for a few moments, probably anxiously planning the next steps of his pack. It was weird saying that. I had my own pack.

"Two packs, the first female wolf, and a war? You're right, Jake. This is a lot to chew on."

Sam continued after a short respite to collect himself, "when did Bella say she was going to ask Cullen about the Seattle vamps?"

"I don't know. Sometime later since she's at school right now. We plan on attending Harry's service." I leaned some of my weight on top of Seth's head, trying to goad a reaction out of him. "Are we still using Seth as a means of communication between the packs?" Seth fell for it. He desperately attempted to push my arm off and I didn't budge. We laughed together; he was like a little brother to me. It was too easy to mess with him.

"Yeah, for now. Seth can sense Leah differently than any of us can sense each other. It's probably because they're siblings. Thanks for the info, Jake. Let us know what Cullen finds out, and we'll meet back here to discuss our next move." Seth had finally pulled my arm off his head, and I hooked it around his neck, ruffling his hair playfully yet again.

"Hey, cut it out! Just 'cuz you're bigger than me, that's not fair!" Seth fought to break free from my hold. I let him go willingly, a big grin painted his face.

"Got it, I'll know more tonight hopefully. I'll pass any info I learn to Leah for Seth. Give my love to Em, I'll see ya later." It was just past 1:30 PM. Bella would be getting out of school soon—I promised to pick her up. Truth be told, I missed her something fierce despite being apart for only a few hours. Life felt incomplete without her.

"Bye, shrimp. Stay outta trouble." I gave a fist bump to Seth.

"I hope your imprint happens soon. I'm really happy for you, Jake." Embry murmured and patted my back as I opened the screen door to leave Emily's. I hadn't even mentioned that, or the part where Quil said it most likely would occur after a traumatic event. I was still hoping his prediction was wrong.

"Thanks, man. I hope so, too." I hesitated.

The door involuntarily slammed behind me with a gust of springtime wind. I shrugged and repeated my pattern of removing clothes, hiding them and phasing. This time in reverse order. I ran as fast as my four legs could take me. While back at my dad's house, I snagged the tail end of a shower, put on cologne, and brushed my teeth. I glanced at the clock in my room, and it was a few minutes before 2 PM. I didn't waste too much time throwing my remaining clean black tee and last pair of jeans on. I left a note for my dad on the cork board in the kitchen, so he knew where I was.

As I revved the throttle to my motorcycle, it quickly roared to life. I skidded around the side of the garage carefully, taking mental note of the passenger helmet stowed away in the side compartment for Bella. I made it to the school in just enough time. All the students had begun to weed out to their cars, and some were being picked up. I watched the front doors like a hawk. A hand slammed down on my shoulder, effectively startling me from my concentration. I jerked my head swiftly to the left, expecting to start a fight with someone. Instead, I came face to face with Leah, thankfully in human form...

"It's about time you showed up. I was getting really bored." She punched my opposite shoulder and shoved her hands into the pocket of her hoodie. I was unfazed by her attitude.

Why are you in human form? I thought I told you to watch her.

Easy, captain control, I did what you asked. I changed back just now because I wanted to meet her for myself and see what the big deal is. You can either lump it, or I can easily go back to ignoring the fact she exists.

Yeah, yeah. You better be nice, Leah. Or else.

The same group from this morning exited the building. Three boys, including that pasty blonde jerk from the movies, and two girls were walking beside Bella. As they got closer, I noticed a palpable change in the atmosphere around me. My heart felt heavy in my chest. My breathing slowed down eminently, like it was being stolen straight from my lungs. It was as if gravity no longer held me to Earth, but rather, something else entirely. My skin was too warm, an uncontrollable wave of butterflies devoured my insides. What was happening? These weren't my feelings, they couldn't be. I'd already seen Bella before... I glanced over at Leah, immediately understanding what was happening. I couldn't believe it.

A vision of one of the girls next to Bella flooded my mind—a product of the collective link with Leah. There must have been a thousand different 'memories' passing into my subconscious at the same time. I saw dozens of snippets of their future. Some where they were young, and some where they were old. Almost all of them depicted a vivid, content life that Leah and this girl shared. Eventually, a family came into the picture at a later point. I could feel everything she felt in that moment. Out of respect for her, I shut my eyes tight and shook my head in protest. I didn't want to see anything I'd regret knowing. Intimate stuff mostly. I was no stranger to seeing imprints happen, but this time was a little different. From my perspective, it was refreshing to see Leah actually, genuinely happy. She deserved it more than anyone. I ignored the physical reaction that Leah unintentionally projected onto me and refocused on Bella.

Leah, did you... imprint?

There was no response and I turned to face her. A dumbstruck expression graced her angular features, and a long, exasperated sigh escaped her parted lips. I waved my right hand in front of her sable-colored doe eyes, and she defensively slapped it away. She growled back at me in annoyance, but I sensed embarrassment from her. She hadn't been the biggest fan of imprinting to begin with.

S-shut up! Shut the hell up, Jake! Stay outta my head.

Hah! You totally did! You just imprinted! Must be nice. I'm happy for you.

Bella had reached us now and interrupted our mental bickering. She seemed confused as to why Leah was with me.

"H-hi—you're Leah, right? It's nice to meet you. What's up?" Bella extended her hand, attempting to shake Leah's. She was still expectantly enthralled with the girl standing behind Bella.

"Yeah, yeah. Hi, hello, whatever," she whispered impatiently, "who's that?"

"Who? Jessica?" Bella whirled around to look behind her and pointed to the short, obnoxious one.

"No, no, no—not that foghorn with legs. Her." Leah pointed to the taller one with bobbed, dark brown, almost black hair and equally tan skin that rivaled Leah's.

I saw her from Leah's perspective, and it made my heart involuntarily do a somersault inside my ribs. The wolf telepathy thing made stuff real awkward sometimes. I hated embodying the thoughts and feelings other pack members had. The girl in question was currently hugging the tallest boy and kissed him goodbye. Leah recoiled, instantaneously averting her gaze. I don't think Bella saw her reaction, as she was still facing the opposite direction. Leah was unusually good at hiding her emotions but not this time. While wolves had no choice when it came to who they imprinted on, the way the connection worked caused all feelings to be that much more intense. It was exponentially deeper than average, typical love. Imprints were mates for life. Unfortunately, any prior commitment and or love before them would be snuffed out the moment the wolf found their true mate. Hence the awful love triangle situation Leah had been roped into before this. It was refreshing to know she would be set free from that.

"That's Angela. I can introduce you if you want," Bella began but I interjected—

"Hey Bells, how was school?" I could feel Leah's heart sink into her stomach. It made me nauseous.

"School was boring, nothing special to report. Is she ok?" Bella had noticed Leah's change in demeanor. I gave her credit where it was due. She was very intuitive, something I clearly lacked.

"Yeah, she'll be fine. Just a stomachache probably. Are you ready to study?" I handed her the passenger helmet and she nodded enthusiastically. She straddled the motorcycle, her arms wrapping tightly around me after she fastened the strap in place. The rest of the group had caught up to us and the short, aggravating girl was dragging the blonde boy with her. The taller girl Leah imprinted on trailed a few steps behind.

"Bella! Bella, wait! Aren't you gonna introduce us to your boyfr—to him? Wait, who're you? I don't think I've ever seen you before. I would know, I'm head of the student council." Jessica's voice was even more awful than I used to think Leah's was. I rolled my eyes at her prying, boastful temperament. Bella tightened her hold around my waist at first but then leaned away from me. Leah had returned to normal, and I felt the increasing dislike towards Jessica build in our telepathic link.

Can I eat her? Absolutely no one would miss her. She's annoying as hell. How does Angela deal with her? What a literal saint...

Glad you could join us here back on Earth. No, you can't eat her. I might let you if she doesn't shut up and quit bothering Bella. But only if I can eat the blonde idiot next to her.

We laughed together in the collective. Bella had attempted to get off the bike, the weight of her school bag made her extra unstable. I helped steady her.

What's with him? He looks super constipated.

Hah! Yeah, he does. He thinks he's hot to trot is all. What a whiny, little baby. My one and only time meeting him, he tossed his cookies during an R-rated movie.

"Yeah, Jess'. This is Jacob, and this is Leah. They don't go to school here." Bella's hand was cold to the touch, and I was beyond happy just to feel her skin on mine again.

"Charmed." Leah rolled her eyes, still focused on Angela who stood behind the short one.

Don't care.

Leah pretended to snore mentally, and I hid a playful smirk. "What's up?" I said, releasing Bella's hand. I didn't want to embarrass her in front of her friends.

"Are you guys like—dating? Bella wouldn't say anything about it. Even though I asked her in bio, and Calculus and at lunch. It's nice to see her being normal again after her weird obsession over her breakup with Edward," she assessed her perfectly manicured nails, "it's really weird that the whole Cullen family just disappeared. I guess they moved some place like Alaska or something."

She turned to Leah, "are you like—his sister or cousin?" Jessica's voice yammered. I had forgotten she was even talking at all.

"No, Leah's not related. She lives on the Quileute rez with me. We were gonna go study together with Bella," I corrected and lied. But big mouth didn't need to know that. I think I did a decent job of creating a good coverup on the fly. Angela had come over to stand next to Bella. She must have overheard the end of the conversation.

"Jeez Jess', you can't just ask if people are related strictly based on the color of their skin. It's rude, and pretty racist." Her gentle voice wasn't loud, but it effortlessly cut through Jessica's. Leah stared blankly at her, desperately trying to keep her cool. Her heart pumped harder, like it might shoot through her ribs. I instantly felt a sympathetic wave of nervousness because of it. Damn it.

"Hi, I'm Angela," she glared at Jess and then faced me, "you must be Jacob. Finally, I can put a face to the famous name. Bella talks about you a lot." Her smile was small but genuine. I liked her the best out of the group Bella went to school with. She was the only one who seemed like a good friend.

She looked directly at Leah, "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch your name." Angela's voice was soft like velvet and calming. Leah's attraction to her was undeniable. Every second that passed was getting more unbearable.

"Yeah, I'm Jake," I pointed beside me, "this is Leah. We live on the Quileute reservation. Nice to meet you, too, Angela."

I gently nudged Leah forward, closer towards her. She anxiously tucked some of her waist-length, shiny, black hair behind her ear. Her hands wrung together briefly, and she fidgeted with one of her hoodie strings, twirling the end between a thumb and forefinger.

"H-hi. It's... very nice to meet you, Angela."

Wow. I think that was the first time I ever heard Leah be sociable—kind, even. Angela reached out to shake Leah's hand and she happily returned the gesture. Leah felt a warm, fluttery zap of lightning up her back the moment their hands connected. They lingered for a few seconds longer, Angela pulled her hand back first. Leah focused on the curve of Angela's lips, swallowing uneasily. It made me hunger for Bella's the more I thought about it.

"The pleasure is all mine." Angela inadvertently touched her hand after her handshake with Leah.

Maybe she felt the connection, too? I don't know if humans feel the same way wolves do with their imprints, but I hope so for Leah's sake. Emily explained it to me one time as a love-at-first-sight kind of thing. Angela gazed at her wistfully and then back to Bella, straightening deftly. Jessica had already left. It seemed like the conversation wasn't interesting enough for her. There was no 'gossip'. The blond kid left to his respective car as well. That filled me with relief.

"I'm glad to see Bella has some really good friends to lean on." Angela bit her lower lip, adjusting her purple glasses on the bridge of her nose.

Leah wrapped her arms around herself, scrambling mentally to find a way to make small talk but not make the conversation flatline. Any excuse to prolong the contact. Bella looked between the two of them and me. I shot a knowing wink at her, and she climbed back onto the bike.

"Yeah. I can see that, too." A timid smile formed on Leah's face. Angela's eyes widened for a moment, a grin angling the corner of her mouth.

"Ok, we ought to get going. Gotta study for those finals." Bella tried hard to contain her own smile, she leaned her head against the back of my shoulder and her arms wrapped around my midsection again. As it should be. "See you guys later," Bella waved to her friends and I waved at Leah, unhitching the break from my motorcycle.

"I'll see you back on the rez." Leah nodded and immediately stole a glance at Angela. They started a conversation as we slowly pulled out of the emptied parking lot.

I'll talk to you later. Have funnnn.

Shove it, Black...

I caught a glimpse of either girl beaming at each other in one of my side mirrors. We drove around for a little while, putting off responsibility for a moment. Bella and I enjoyed the midday spring air and warm sunshine. It was nice to forget being a pack leader—even if it was just Leah I watched over. We pulled into Bella's driveway about an hour after school let hour. I would have preferred not studying Calculus or English, and instead relax for once. It had to be done. There needed to be some semblance of normalcy between the impending doom of the war and what came after it. We camped out in Charlie's front yard, laying a large, knitted blanket down on the grass. Bella called it a cozy studying nook, or her favorite place to be when the weather cooperated.

"What's first? English or math?" She fought to lift her overly thick calculus book, the other hand held her notebook from English. I groaned and hid my face in my hands, seeing if she took the bait.

"Neither?" I teased, deciding to take both of them out of her hands. I tossed them carefully to one of the corners of the blanket.

"Jake, I gotta study for my finals next week. And you need to study to get your GED. We can't spend all of our time making out, y'know?" She waved her arms above her head, trying to grab her schoolwork from me. I easily kept it out of her reach without trying very hard. The height difference between us made her attempt laughable.

"Pay the toll and I'll give you your books back?" I moved her notebook and calculus textbook into one hand. It might have been difficult if it were anyone else. My hands were quite large compared to the notebook—practically the same length. My other arm gingerly wrapped around her thin waist.

"Pfft. I don't do well under pressure, and capitalism is a scam," she laughed coyly, both of her hands were still outstretched. They were reaching for the books I held with a fraction of my grip.

"Exactly one kiss, please. That's all I want. Then you can study 'till your pretty little heart's content." She scrunched her nose up at me. Oh, how I loved that look. She was frustrated but playing along.

"That's coercion, sir. Highly illegal." She pushed her hands against my chest, leaning into my lap. The sudden closeness forced my heart to skip a beat. I wasn't used to her taking initiative. Her scent filled my eager lungs, and I forgot all about keeping her book. It fell from my hand onto the edge of grass along the blanket. My other arm came down to complete the circuit. Bella's cell phone began to ring, and she peered down at it from behind a curtain of her long, brunette hair. All of the color leeched from her face.

"It's... Edward." What the hell did he want? She looked as though she would be sick. I watched her answer the call and listened with bated breath. "H-hello?" She whispered meekly into the mouthpiece.

"Hello, Bella. What an honor it is to hear your delicate voice after being deprived of it for so long." His sickeningly sweet voice murmured. The hair on the back of my neck raised. I wanted to reach through the phone in that very instant. He didn't sound like he didn't love her anymore...

"What do you want, Edward?" She boldly asked, her voice wavered on the last disgusting word. My hands balled into fists as I held back my fury. Alice must have let slip she jumped off a cliff. There was no other reason he'd be calling her. Not now anyway. Not after almost a full year of being gone from her life.

"I was calling to ensure your safety. Rosalie mentioned in passing that Alice went back to Forks to speak with you about something urgent. I was worried something had happened to you," the receiver went silent momentarily, "that and I must admit I miss you terribly." Bella had flinched at the last sentence, and I daydreamed about smashing the cellphone to smithereens. Problem solved. I was fighting everything within me to remain silent, but I trusted Bella.

"Yes, Alice did come back to see me, and we talked. I'm doing quite well without you. I'm living my normal, human life to the fullest—as you intended." Bella shut her eyes tightly, it was very apparent this conversation was affecting her more than she let on. Her hands were trembling.

She breathlessly continued, "is there anything else you need from me? I am rather busy. I have finals to study for, so I can graduate." Her voice had an icy edge. Utter astonishment filled me, and I was so proud. I knew this was unbelievably hard on her. She finally told him off—she wasn't under his spell anymore. I was elated but wanted to comfort her, nonetheless. Her hand went white clutching the red, square device close to her face.

"Ah, I see. My sincerest apologies, Bella. I didn't mean to keep you very long. I simply wished to check on you and confirm you were out of harm's way." There was absolutely no emotion to his words. It made my skin crawl.

"Yeah, the wolves are keeping me company. By the way, I'm not out of harm's way. Victoria is still hunting me. No thanks to you," she swallowed uneasily, recalibrating, "what's done is done. I don't need you to pity me or think of me for that matter. I hope you enjoy the next few centuries alone. Goodbye, Edward." She pressed the end call button with pure vitriol. Her hand shook harder as she clutched the phone to her chest. Almost as if she forgot she pressed the end call button, she pressed it over and over again. A nervous tic, possibly. All of my anger subsided, and I held her tightly to my chest.

"Bells, are you ok?" I asked, tilting her chin up so I could look at her. Two, singular tears streamed down her cheeks despite her stone expression. I expertly wiped them away using the flat pad of my thumb. No answer. She just stared back at me—almost through me. That worried me.

"Bella, honey, it's alright. He's not here. Everything will be okay," I repeated. Her bottom lip quivered; her face finally caught up to her delayed emotions. She shed a few more tears, burying her face into the material of my black tshirt. I gently stroked her soft, dark hair with one hand, the other patted her back in the silence.

"I know, Jake. I know," she paused, "you're here and... why'd he call now? I was finally happy."

"You are happy, Bells. Don't let him take that away from you. He's stolen too much time from you already. Nothing has changed from before that phone call. I still feel the same way for you. Do you feel the same way for me?" She peered up at me, moisture scattered on her eyelashes. Another tear escaped the corner of her right eye and she dabbed at it with the sleeve of her shirt.

"Yes, of course." She sniffled, her voice was thin and brittle.

"Then don't worry about it. Like you said—you've got a paper to write and math to study. I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay right here." I pushed a loose tuft of her hair behind her left ear and gave her the brightest 'Jacob'-y smile I could muster.

"Besides, Alice said he's in Rio, right? That's all the way on the opposite side of South America. No big deal. If he didn't leave to come here yesterday—he wouldn't come today. You're safe, Bella." I pressed a long kiss to her forehead and stroked her back tentatively.

"Yeah, I guess that's true," she shook her head, "now I really don't want to study. Do you think we could call her? Alice, I mean. I forgot to last night. That way we can figure out the whole Seattle thing, I can focus on something else, and she can yell at her stupid brother." She shoved her calculus book away with irritation, another small sniffle escaping her.

My heart ached to see her cry over that bastard. He was still hurting her. Hundreds of miles away, how many months later, and he was still poisoning her life. An image of his throat trapped under my massive paw filled my mind, and I purred with silent satisfaction. I watched the hard granite-like material of his too perfect features start to splinter under the pressure of my foot. A few more seconds and his head would pop off like a dandelion top. Bella towed me back to reality by touching my face, her small hand rested against the length of my cheek and jaw.

"Jake, did you hear me?" She whispered and I blinked rapidly. My mind replayed her sentence and I shrugged.

"Only if you're up for it. Are you sure you want to talk to her after that?" I leaned into her soothing touch. I kissed the bulk of her palm to her fingertips, forming her hand to the contours of my warm face afterwards.

"I'm sure, but first—I need my hand back, Jake." A laugh tugged the corners of her lips upwards out of a frown. The sound of wind chimes, my favorite sound.

"Nah, this one's mine. Get your own," I murmured, planting even more kisses on the hand I held captive. A rosy blush washed over her cheeks, and she frustratedly huffed.

"I'm right-handed, I can't dial then. P-please give me my hand back." She was flustered, but that blush was so adorable. I felt the undeniable urge to cover her face with kisses instead.

Pulling her further in towards me, I wrapped both of my arms around her waist and pulled her backwards. She was surprised at this action, and her eyes grew wide with uncertainty. I snuggled her close to me for many minutes. We were laying flat on the blanket. Her body was fully on top of mine in most places, a wonderful feeling. One I would never get used to and craved immediately after she moved away. I finished the sentiment by gifting a kiss to the crown of her head.

"Alright, now you can call her." I smirked, my eyes locking with hers.

"You're impossible." A timid smile remained upon her lips as she dialed the number she had in her phone for Alice. It rang once and then clicked in response.

"Hello, this is Alice." I remembered her high-pitched voice from earlier. It didn't register properly with Bella's phone. The receiver crackled with each word she spoke.

"Hey Alice, it's Bella." She replied slowly.

"Hi Bella! Are you coming to see me today?" Alice was overly excited at the thought of seeing her? That made two of us. I protectively increased my hold on her.

"No, not exactly. I called because I have some questions. I don't know if you can answer them."

"Questions? About what?" Her voice was singsong in tune.

"Questions about Victoria, and her decision to possibly make a new coven in Seattle." Bella flippantly responded.

"Oh. I haven't seen a future directly related to her for a long time. Let me check." She was quiet for a few minutes, and we listened for her next chirpy reply. "Victoria is... creating an army of newborn vampires around Seattle. Wait—how did you know?" Her chipper voice cracked; she was genuinely shocked.

"I kind of found out from the pack. One of the wolves said he smelled lots of vampires when they chased her up around that area. That's where the whole prediction started."

"Hmm. That's interesting. She can't stay there. It's too close to our territory in Forks."

"I don't think she really cares, Alice. She wants me dead," Bella choked out the last word and I steadied her, running my hands through her hair.

"I'll talk to Carlisle and see what he thinks we should do about it. I doubt the mutts could handle as many as she's bringing." I swallowed a nasty retort. Pride swelled in my chest, but Bella shushed me.

"Okay—but don't have Edward come back, please. He called a few minutes ago. I think it was because of yesterday and it wouldn't go very well if he came back here."

"Bella, I understand how you feel but we'll need all of us to fight off a coven of that size."

"Please, talk to Carlisle first," Bella hesitated, "tell Jasper I said hey. If he doesn't hate me, that is."

"Bella, he doesn't hate you. He says hi and that he misses your spunkiness." Bella chuckled and shook her head.

"I might be seeing him real soon. You, too. Let me know, I'll talk to you later Alice."

"Okay Bella, talk to you later! Miss you already." A dial tone sounded, and Bella closed her flip phone and threw it defiantly onto the blanket. Her whole body relaxed into mine and she sighed heavily.

"I don't know if I can do this, Jake."

"Hey, listen, it's gonna be okay. I won't let him anywhere near you. If necessary, I'll hang back to protect you, and the rest of the wolf packs will fight alongside the Cullen's."

"He's fast Jake. Much faster than the others," Bella shivered, "I'm worried he won't take no for an answer. He wouldn't like the idea of someone else dating me. Especially you," she murmured. My body tensed and I thought of ripping him limb from limb if he even tried anything.

"Bells, I won't let him touch you. If he tries—I'll tear his arms off. Even I know the meaning of consent. You're your own person," my arms encircled her once more and held her in a strong but gentle embrace.

I continued, "enough vamp talk. Get to studying, shrimp." I grabbed her calculus book and handed it to her.

"You're giving me whiplash. First you don't want me to study, now you do?"

She pushed out of my arms playfully, her long, silky dark hair covered part of her face. I adjusted it to settle behind her shoulder. While I promised her everything would be okay, even I didn't know what the future held.

Old Quil's words rung in my ears...

"Your imprint will happen after a traumatic event. Potentially after the war has ended, or before. It is unknown when it will happen. Too much interference from the cold ones."

"What? What kind of event? Do either of us get hurt?"

"That is uncertain as well. You must be strong, Jacob. As an alpha, you must protect your pack. This includes your mate."

I shook my head lightly, refocusing onto Bella's heart-shaped face.

"I can't help it. I'm mischievous. I like teasing you," I pressed a kiss into the exposed flesh of her neck and her eyes fluttered shut at my touch. I could feel her heart racing inside her pulse and mine did too. I especially didn't want her to study now. A few more kisses wouldn't hurt us.

"I can see that," she whispered breathily. She nestled deeper into my arms, squeezing me to her. "I really gotta study, Jake." She scrunched her nose up and gently jabbed my ribs. I pretended I was mortally wounded and floundered around on the blanket.

"Oh, you got me, ow! How'd you know where my weakness was?" We stared up into the sky and watched the clouds go by for a few minutes.

Bella rolled onto her stomach and began her studying. She occasionally asked me questions—most of which I already knew. An hour or so went by and she finished her essay draft and studying for Calculus. It was almost 4 PM, we both agreed we would attend Harry's viewing in an hour.

*I'm close to finishing the next chapter as well... enjoy a little fluff between our fav couple. How do ya'll like the Angeleah pairing? Be prepare for Chapter 7! It's gonna be a doozy. Hold on to your hats, guys. :0