Title: In Due Time

Chapter 20: Running Wild..

"Talking" , 'thinking', 'Text Messages' 'Return text messages'

Just a quick note- due to the requirement of chapter 18.5, this chapter contains chapters 20 and 21 so that the actual chapters line up correctly and I don't have to keep typing chapter whatever instead of just the title… two here's a two for one, and everything will be lined out properly from here on out thank you for the patience

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I didn't know where I was going any more, only that I was going and that it was cold. The Ocean stood to my left and thick forests stood to my right, both beautiful sights however brief as I ran along the coast line. It had been nearly two months since that fateful night that I snapped at Alice, I couldn't forgive myself so matter how hard I tried. I had finally gotten control of my body again and thankfully my coat had returned to being pitch black but I did have a single, neat triangular patch of white fur on my forehead. Suddenly a howl tore up from my right causing me to lose my footing. I slid to the left and was going over the side when a strong set of jaws latched onto the fur at the back of my neck. I yelped and dug my claws into the cliff side trying to claw my way up again. Finally making it back to solid ground, I was released and was immediately on the defense. In front of me stood a giant russet wolf, just a few inches bigger than me but, still bigger. I flattened my ears back and barred my teeth at the intruder, I was not about to be taken advantage of. The other wolf dropped his tail and placed his nose to the ground to show vulnerability, I slowly inched toward him not sure if I wanted to trust this stranger but something in the back of my mind was whispering that it was okay. My ears swiveled forward, and I relaxed slowly. When I got to the stranger I took in his scent and was shocked that this wolf smelled like my Jacob. I whined and jumped back not sure what to do. The other wolf raised its head then after taking one last look it headed into the woods.

"Bella, it's me Jacob." And from the tree line came the Jacob I remembered dearly. His abs were exposed as he only had shorts on. I was elated to see my dear friend, I was so happy I threw back my head, howled out my joy and then jumped and tackled him to the ground. He latched onto my body and we rolled through the dirt a moment before coming to a stop. I rolled over and was delighted when he wrapped my massive head into a hug. I nuzzled into his chest and took in his scent. He ran his hands through my fur and scratched all the right places.

"Bella, we miss you. All of us down on la push and even the Cullen's miss you. When are you going to come home?" his voice was strong and he was warm but suddenly I washed I was a million miles away. I let out a light whine and shook my head.

"Why Bella? Is it because of the whole Alice thing? She misses you so much she doesn't want you to let that hold you back from coming home. What about Emmett and the kids?" his voice was full of pain. I growled and shook out of his grasp, I distanced myself a few feet from him with my ears laid back again.

"Bella?" I growled and snapped at him I was so mad. How dare he mention the kids knowing they were dead! How dare he! I was starting to shake from being mad. He got up and started to come closer I bared my teeth, spun around and growled out a warning to him.

"Bella what's wrong? What did I do? I know were both wolves internally, but I can't really understand you in that form since were not part of the same pack." he look honestly hurt. I shook and did the one thing I hadn't one in months, I changed back to my human form.

"How dare you!" I screamed at him. My voice although shaky was getting stronger by the second.

"How dare you bring up my kids! They DIED you insensitive jerk!" I shook in all my rage and ran toward him at the same time I balled up my fists and took a swing. It would have landed squarely to his jaw if he hadn't caught it.

"Bella, what are you talking about? The kids are fine, Emmett and I can barely keep than out of Alice's hands." He screamed and tried to hit him again.

"YOU LIEING!" I came within an inch of his jaw and he caught me again.

"Damn it Bella! You a Wolf! You can smell any lie. Which I'm obviously not!" he yelled into my face. I was surprised and waited a moment trying to detect any such lie but couldn't find one.

"But, Edward said?" I was confused and hurting even more than ever before. Jacob wrapped me up in his powerful arms.

"He lied Bella, to make you more willing to do what he said. He was taking advantage of your lost will to fight for your children." I broke and cried into his arms until everything went black.

END CHAPTER 20 – START CHAPTER 21

Title: In Due Time

Chapter 21: Coming home

I woke up with my head laying in Jacobs lap. I curled into him as much as I could, but froze when he stared to laugh. My heat skipped a beat but something told me this was wrong, that I was supposed to be with someone else.

"Jake?" I had to ask before I forgot again.

"Yeah?" he was running his hands through my hair, and as much as I liked it, it somehow felt wrong.

"Yesterday you mentioned someone… who is Emmett?" for some reason I feel like I should know who this person was.

"You, you don't remember?" he froze and stared down at me. I shifted so I could look up into his eyes, his expression was of pure shock, but I couldn't help the truth so I shook my head.

"You and Emmett are, er, were in a relationship, I think you were even planning on being married and trying to have your own family… when you left for your moms' Rose went ballistic.. Especially when she found out you put Emmett as the father of the children and yourself as the mother.. Emmett was forced to deal with her and when you were forced to flee for safety Alice saw you hit your head and forget some people but we couldn't figure out who you would and wouldn't forget… I guess it was Emmett.. poor guy I don't think he'll handle this very well." My heart was racing, I was feeling very sad, and suddenly I felt very ill.. I crawled away from Jake and puked over the edge of a large tree root. I crawled back toward Jake and settled back in.

"So what should we do from here?" I didn't know what to do any more besides running… maybe Jake could start me in the right direction.

"We should go back to La Push so you can adjust to being in human form for extended amounts of time. Then in a few days we should go see the Cullen's…" he said as he got up. I followed his lead as we began to walk south which I suppose is the direction of Forks, and therefore La Push and the Cullen's….

A FEW DAYS LATER

"Jake I don't think this is such a great idea. Can't I just go back to running wild?" He had forced me into clothes and shoes and hair ties.

"Bella don't you want to see you kids again?" I frowned at him for pulling such a dirty trick.

"You suck…." He smiled and made a 'continue' motion with his hand and I continued to walk back and forth in heels.

"why do I have to walk in heels to be able to see my children? Can't I just wear sneakers?" I whined at him. A look of recognition crossed his face and he planted his hand on his face. I stopped dead, stepped out of the heels and continued to throw them at him, fortunately for him he managed to dodge the first one, but the second one struck him hard in the stomach.

"Ow Bells.. that hurt." He whined right back

"Well you deserve it! You know how clumsy I am! Jeesh." I turned and walked back toward the house we shared. At some point while I had left Jake had moved to a house by his dad but he had wanted some privacy and I was happy for it so that we could avoid some really awkward questions, for example why I was naked, how long id be staying, and what had happened. In the last day id made it to Jakes house, bought some clothes, and returned and worked on being in human form for long periods of time. I had liked most of my clothing but a lot of it was way too clingy still. Maybe as time went on and I became more comfortable in human skin it wouldn't be so hard to deal with. I walked into the house, grabbed a water from the fridge and then sprawled out on our couch. It wasn't long before Jake was in the house as well.

"Hey I'm going out for a bit okay?" he smiled at me and dragged me up off the couch.

"Alright just be home in time for dinner, and be careful." I wrapped my arms around his neck and his wrapped around my waist. He kissed the top of my head, and then he was out the door.

"Now what will I make for dinner tonight?"