Hey guys, I hope you're still invested in this story. Life should calm down for me in the next few weeks, so I can update more often. I'm not sure what's going on with fanfic emails. I keep getting error messages on my side. Let me know if you're getting notifications if you have them enabled.

Chapter 4

Jacob

As soon as the therapy gym door closed, the tension I held onto came out like a growl. A brief whiff of the air revealed that my coworkers were elsewhere or on lunch break, ensuring no one would panic about a wild animal roaming around. I was glad to have a few moments to myself after the strangest therapy session I'd ever been involved with. Bella was supposed to have a new therapy evaluation, but my supervising PT had an emergency at his kid's school. I caught a few words as he rushed by this morning. "Check my notes, see our regulars, and I'll be back in the afternoon, hopefully. Fingers crossed that my kid doesn't have a concussion."

Therapy with Bella today was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. We barely got anything accomplished. She tired so easily and was weak. Having her eyes stare into me was the glaring difference compared to her regular passive movements I assisted with during our deep-coma sessions. Seeing Bella present and awake wasn't the big issue. Neither of us said much else after she made that comment about me knowing everything.

I knew lots of things that other people didn't know, but what got me was that Bella shouldn't know any of that stuff. She'd been out for years. After talking to Dad, Sam, and Charlie many times, I realized Bella knew of the Cullens, but there was no way she understood what they were. They'd been at the high school for a few years but kept to themselves and never let on to anyone they were animal blood-drinking vampires.

I had many alternative names for them because the entire ruse made little sense. It was one of the first things I renegotiated when I became alpha. They could not attend high school anywhere. It was fucking weird. None of them looked like the typical school crowd despite their forever youthful appearance. One would think there's more interesting things to do given their special supernatural attributes and endless wealth.

I was reminded once more that the Cullen family were freaks of nature. I get it. My brothers, Leah, and I were freaks in our own rite, but damn. We were also still alive. We controlled our special ability and none of us believed we'd shift indefinitely. Vampires were forever cursed. I couldn't stop thinking about Charlie's revelation that Bella believed she was married to Edward.

No, no, no. Destroy him.

My wolf normally behaved in my work environment, but he'd been so agitated since I started having closer contact with Bella. He needed a run as soon as I took my lunch break. Hopefully, none of the pack was close. I wasn't confident that I could keep my thoughts about this entire Bella situation locked down. Sam ordered this bodyguard duty, but he'd cautioned me over the years that I still needed a life outside my school and Bella commitments.

He never intended me to develop an entire profession that kept me near her. My friends were limited to coworkers and the pack. I didn't date. The transformation accelerated every physicality, so the pack had plenty of fun in the beginning once we mastered control. The older guys insisted we needed certain outlets, or the wolf would drive us fucking insane. But once I truly settled into college courses and my job, the lifestyle of my single pack mates didn't appeal to me. Partying and hookups were never my thing, anyway.

Sometimes, I felt like a lone wolf even though I was the leader of this pack. It's common to hear people say they were split between work and home life. I felt divided into thirds. There was Jacob Black, the therapist, and there was the Alpha, but for years, there was also Bella's protector. The bodyguard side should intertwine with the alpha of the pack. But my loyalties to her were different. I'd sensed that for a long while.

Not sure what I thought would happen if she ever woke up. Hearing that Bella told her parents Edward, a bloodsucking demon, was her husband, was the last thing I expected. I'd been there for her. It was my voice she heard each day. Now that I'd let the reality sink in, I felt a sting knowing her thoughts were on him. The truth was what she said deeply hurt me. The guys could never know, or I'd lose their respect. My vulnerable feelings needed to stay buried. I can't say how, but I'm also certain my more intentional contact with Bella jumpstarted something within her. It wasn't like me to feel insecure and full of self-doubt, but I think my ego experienced a huge nosedive.

Allowing myself a few minutes of pity, I shook off my troubled thoughts. It wasn't like I truly expected her to wake up after three and a half years and say, "Oh, hey, Jacob, I think I remember you. You're my dad's best friend's son. Also, is it just me or are we soulmates?"

The gym door swung open and Carlton, the Occupational therapist, marched inside. "Black. What's up? I heard you got stuck with Sleeping Beauty. Tim better be careful. He puts more responsibility on you than he's supposed to. It's not right or ethical."

Knowing Carl was always looking for violations, I downplayed my role in Bella's care. "It wasn't a big deal. I ran through a few of our regular exercise with her."

He defended me. "I know you're on the up and up. Just be careful. Tim cuts too many corners. You're a newbie and I don't want to see you get busted for bending the rules. That shit goes on your record." He paused. "So, how is she really? I doubt you got much accomplished this soon."

Sounding indifferent was necessary, and I was normally good at it. Today was a different story. "She's tired, but I think she's a miracle."

Carl eyed me curiously. He shrugged. "Not big on miracles, but it's fucking crazy. She's lucky she's not a vegetable. I can't believe she woke up after this long. Money talks. No one else would have made it this far."

"What do you mean?" I knew Charlie wasn't a wealthy man and assumed he'd applied for some type of special catastrophic benefits for his only child.

"You didn't know? I thought you were a family friend," he added.

"I am. But know what?" I asked. Of course, I knew about the Cullen's involvement with the construction of this facility, but I assumed that was their initial guilt after Bella's accident. I hadn't worried about all the weird stuff Blondie claimed about her foster sibling in a long time. If he was truly drawn to Bells, he had a strange way of showing it. The family left without a word when I became alpha. Sam initially assigned me to protect her, but none of the family ever dared to come near her.

Carlton reminded me he helped with medical records and was on the last audit team. "Everything that was done for Isabella Swan since the accident cost a damn fortune. She was a DOA in Seattle. I know a guy that flew the medi-chopper. She shouldn't have even qualified for the flight. Her experimental surgeries, the extended hospital stay, and this place, which I heard was built solely because of her, have always been a mystery. Some benefactor has spent millions on her care and now that she's awake, I'm wondering how long it will be before this individual comes to witness the miracle of his investments."

My co-worker left me to ponder those revelations. As soon as he left me, I sent a group message to the pack. We need a meeting tonight at 8.

I knew all along the Cullens acted unusually regarding Bella, but I never imagined they were behind everything to do with her ongoing care. Given what they were, Bella's humanity, the pixie's awful predictions, Edward's extra worry about Bells, and Blondie's strange involvement at the accident, my pack and I needed a new contingency plan. We'd gotten lax these past couple of years with the coven gone. I had a false hope the world would be right if she just woke up. There was more to her story, but I pledged Edward Cullen would never have a say in her second chance at life. Playing it cool would not be my approach from here on out. I needed to brainstorm a strong defensive plan with the pack to protect Bella.

She had been awake almost a week, but there was no doubt in my mind that family of bloodsuckers was fully aware of that fact. What I didn't know is what they had planned for us in the near future and that was one of the only things that truly scared me since I first phased.

~Thanks for reading.

Sorry this was short. I will have some longer chapters soon.