Summary: My take on the whole werewolf imprinting deal. ^_^ BellaxJacob

Disclaimer: Trying to keep this as in character as I can. I do not own anything from Twilight. I do not make any money from my writing. Some passages are borrowed directly from the book so as to keep accuracy in the storyline. This is my first Twilight fanfic to please, be gentle.

I walked deliberately to the decrepit truck, a mix of fear and anger causing full blown devastation inside me. My body was shaking as I watched her sitting behind the wheel, completely oblivious to me standing just outside the cab, doodling on a scrap of paper. What was she doing here? Now I would have to hurt us both more. I had already accepted I would have to live without her. Now I would have to make her accept it. I rapped sharply on the door. She jumped in surprise, looking up expectantly.

My shaking jerked to a stop; heat flooded through me, stronger than ever, but it was a new kind of heat - not a burning.

It was a glowing.

Everything inside me came undone as I stared into her warm brown eyes. All the lines that held me to my life were sliced apart in swift cuts, like clipping the strings to a bunch of balloons. Everything that made me who I was - my love for my father, my loyalty to my pack, my hatred for my enemies, my home, my name, my self - disconnected from me in that second - snip, snip, snip - and floated up into space.

I was not left drifting. A new string held me where I was.

Not one string, but a million. Not strings, but steel cables. A million steel cables tying me to one thing - to the very center of the universe.

I could see that now - how the universe swirled around this one point. I'd never seen the symmetry of the universe before, but now it was plain.

The gravity of the earth no longer tied me to the place where I stood.

It was girl in front of me, staring at me in mute surprise. It was the one I had dreamed of claiming so fervently for all this time that held me here and now.

Bella.

Chapter One

Imprint

I stared up at him in blank astonishment.

Jacob had changed radically in the last weeks since I'd seen him. The first thing I noticed was his hair - his beautiful hair was all gone, cropped quite short, covering his head with an inky gloss like black satin. The planes of his face seemed to have hardened subtly, tightened...aged. His neck and his shoulders were different, too, thicker somehow. His hands, where they gripped the window frame, looked enormous, with the tendons and veins more prominent under the russet skin.

I looked into his dark eyes. He was standing there, speechless, but his expression was peaceful, though it was slowly making its way to jubilant.

"Jacob?" I whispered.

He forced my door open, practically ripping it from its hinges, and whisked me from the truck, nearly crushing me in a tight bear hug. His skin was fevered, the way it had been the last time I had touched him.

"Bella! Oh, Bella!" he cried, holding me even tighter, spinning us both in a circle.

"Jake," I gasped, struggling against his grip. "Can't - breathe!"

He loosened his grip, but did not set me down. He pulled back far enough to look at me, his smile warm and his eyes heated.

I realized then we weren't alone. Behind him stood four others; all tall and russet-skinned, hair cropped short just like Jacob's. They could have been brothers - I couldn't even pick Embry out of the group. The resemblance was only intensified by the strikingly similar shock in every pair of eyes.

Jacob followed my gaze, his eyes locking with the oldest of the four, Sam Uley. The smile still on his lips, he nodded at Sam, who seemed to understand instantly. He turned to leave, motioning for the rest to follow. Though still looking surprised, they followed their leader, until finally Jacob and I were left alone.

"Jake, what has been going on? I've been out of my mind with worry. Why haven't you been returning my calls?" I sighed and looked down. "It hasn't been the same without you."

Jacob had the nerve to laugh. I tried to glare at him, but his smile was breathtaking. I felt like I was bathing in the sun for the first time after months of winter.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," his said, his voice husky. "I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't. But now..." He shook his head, still smiling.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing, Bella, not anymore."

"Then, please, tell me what is going on."

He nodded, setting me on my feet but taking possession of my hand. We walked down to First Beach, neither of us speaking until we were seated on the roots of the white tree. I watched him as he continued to hold my hand, staring at my fingers as though they were of great interest.

"I've been wanting to explain all these weeks, but now I'm not even sure where to start."

"At the beginning?" I suggested. "The night we went to the movies."

He chuckled. "No, the beginning was long before that. When we first met. Do you remember the stories I told you? The Quileute legends?"

I stared at him, and I could feel the heat rising to my face. How could I ever forget that? Without realizing what he was doing, Jacob had told me everything I needed to know that day - that Edward was a vampire.

Jacob looked at me with eyes that knew too much.

"You told me about the cold ones," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

"And their enemy," he prompted.

I thought for a moment, then suddenly his voice filled my head as I remembered our conversation in this very spot, that day that seemed so long ago.

"You see, the cold ones are the natural enemies of the wolf - well, not the wolf really, but the wolves that turn into men, like our ancestors. You would call them werewolves."

"Werewolves have enemies?"

"Only one."

There was something stuck in my throat, choking me. I tried to swallow it down, but it was lodged there, unmoving. I tried to spit it out.

"Werewolf," I gasped.

Yes, that was the word that I was choking on.

I stared into Jacob's eyes. He nodded slowly, waiting for my reaction. What kind of place was this?

"So all those missing hikers? It was you? Sam? And the others?"

Jacob's eyes widened in surprised. "Of course not. Don't you remember what we call ourselves?"

The memory was clear - I'd just been thinking of that very day. "Protectors?"

"Exactly."

"But I don't understand. What's happening in the woods?"

His face was serious. "We're trying to do our job, Bella. We're trying to protect them, but we're always just a little too late."

"Protect them from what? Is there really a bear out there, too?"

"Bella, honey, we only protect people from one thing - our one enemy. It's the reason we exist - because they do."

I stared at him blankly for one second before I understood. Then the blood drained from my face and a thin, wordless cry of horror broke through my lips.

He nodded. "I thought you, of all people, would realize what was going on."

"Laurent," I whispered. "He's still here."

Jacob blinked twice, and cocked his head to one side. "Who's Laurent?"

I tried to sort out the chaos in my head so that I could answer. "You know - you saw him in the meadow. You were there..." The words came out in a wondering tone as it all sunk in. "You were there, and you kept him from killing me..."

"Oh, the black haired leech?" He grinned, a tight, fierce grin. "Was that his name?"

I shuddered. "What were you thinking?" I whispered. "He could have killed you! Jake, don't you realize how dangerous-"

Another laugh interrupted me. "Bella, one lone vampire isn't much of a problem for a pack as big as ours. It was so easy, it was hardly even fun!"

"What was so easy?"

"Killing the bloodsucker who was going to kill you. Now I don't count that towards the whole murder thing," he added quickly. "Vampires don't count as people."

I could only mouth the words. "You... killed... Laurent?"

He nodded. "Well, it was a group effort," he qualified.

"Laurent is dead?" I whispered.

His expression changed. "You're not upset about that, are you? He was going to kill you - he was going for the kill, Bella, we were sure of that before we attacked. You know that, right?"

"I know that. No, I'm not upset - I'm... Laurent is dead. He's not coming back for me."

"You're not mad? He wasn't one of your friends or anything, was he?"

"My friend?" I stared up at him, confused and dizzy with relief. I started babbling, my eyes getting moist. "No, Jake. I'm so... so relieved. I thought he was going to find me - I've been waiting for him every night, just hoping that he'd stop with me and leave Charlie alone. I've been so frightened, Jacob... But how? He was a vampire! How did you kill him? He was so strong, so hard, like marble..."

Jacob put one big arm around me comfortingly, pulling me close. "It's what we're made for, Bells. We're strong, too. I wish you could have told me that you were afraid. You didn't need to be."

"You weren't around to tell," I mumbled, lost in thought.

He sighed. "You're right. But I will be. I promise I'll never leave you alone again. I won't let any vampire harm you."

I looked at him closely. He wasn't just saying this. His words were so... definite. Absolute.

It seemed like he could sense my confusion, and he sighed, pulling me into his lap, holding me close to his chest. The gesture was comforting, and I sighed as I rested my head against his shoulder.

"Bella, did anyone ever tell you... have you ever heard of imprinting?"

"Imprinting?" I repeated the unfamiliar word. "No. What's that mean?"

"It's one of those bizarre things we have to deal with. It doesn't happen to everyone. In fact, it's the rare exception, not the rule. It's not easy to explain. It's how we find our mates... as in, our soul mates."

I stiffened in his arms, my heart rate kicking up a notch. "And have you?" I whispered. "Ever imprinted, I mean."

Jacob looked at me, but he wasn't just looking. It was like I was all he could see, the only person in existence. The answer was clear in his eyes.

I felt my jaw drop, and couldn't bring myself to shut it. As if our relationship wasn't confusing enough, now Jacob was claiming I was his wolf soul mate.

"It's the only reason I could tell you," he said, reaching up to brush a strand of hair away from my face. "There are no secrets once we've imprinted."

I swallowed, trying to speak. "But Jacob... don't I even get a choice?"

He scowled. "Of course you have a choice, Bells. You always have a choice. I will never see anyone but you, and so I will always be here to protect you."

I started to struggle, trying to break the grip of his arms. He hesitantly let me go, and I jumped to my feet, heading back in the direction we had come. This was more than I could take. I had come here to confront my friend, but this... It was too much.

"Bella? Where are you going?" he asked, suddenly in front of me.

"Home, Jacob," I growled. "I'm going home."

"I'm sorry, Bells. Don't be mad." He pulled me into his arms, ignoring my futile struggling. "It's not something I have any control over." He placed one hand along the side of my cheek, holding my gaze with his. "Please, just give me a chance. I promise I'll protect you. I'll make you happy."

"Let me go, Jake," I said. "It's too much. I need to be alone."

Without a word he released me, but he still followed me as I trudged back up to the house where my truck stood waiting.

"Will you come back?" he murmured.

My hand stopped where I had been about to climb in behind the wheel. I looked into his eyes, seeing the hurt there, but I couldn't comfort him right now. I could barely even keep myself walking.

"I don't know. I'm sorry, Jake. I can't be your imprint. I can't be with anyone."

"Why?" Jake asked. I crossed my arms tightly over my chest, shuddering with the pain that ripped through me. It ripped through me, and lodged itself in Jacob, if the look on his face was any indication. "I see. It's because I'm not him."

A choked sob escaped my throat. "I'm sorry. I... I just can't."

I jumped into the seat and slammed the door shut.

I drove away without a look back. As I crossed over the border of the reservation I could hear the long piercing howl of a single wolf, his despair and loneliness reverberating through my heart.