Disclaimer:
All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind- scary place that it is sometimes. In no way shape or form have I made or intended to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephanie… though it's a shame she never did anything more with the wolves… ah well.. There's always fan fiction
Authors Notes:
Takes place in New Moon starting after Bella's cliff dive of stupidity.
Age changes for purposes of the story only- Sam is two years older than Bella (20) Paul, Jared and Leah are all a year older than Bella (19) Jacob, Quil and Embry are only a year younger than Bella herself (17). Seth, Colin and Brady are all two years younger than Bella(16).
I'm also not a huge fan of imprinting…I'll use it as SM does every so often but not always. So… yes most of the pairings are cannon, however…this version of it has the Alpha and the wolf agreeing on the chosen mate… it makes for a slightly less demanding approach… less heartache that way-for this story anyways… and NO imprinting on children… its just… not cool

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Somebody's Eyes
Prologue

Bella Swan was slowly going numb from shock. Not only had she finally admitted her feelings for her best friend, Jacob Black, but there in her house was one of the people she had wished with every fiber of her being to see for the better part of the past six months. Alice Cullen was not only back to see her, but she was thoroughly displeased with the reason she was there, having seen her jump off a cliff in a vision she had gained while seeking her out against her brothers wishes. She sighed in exasperation when Bella explained to her that she had jumped for the fun of it, not as an attempt to end her life- thankful for once that she had gotten better at taming her traitorous blush.

"Only you, Bella, would do something so foolish!" Alice grizzled with a short shake of her head and a roll of her eyes as they sat on the living room couch.

"It's not foolish! It was- it IS fun." Bella lied; for once she was able to do so smoothly.

Alice only sighed. Her nose wrinkled in displeasure after a few minutes of idle chatter. "Bella, since when did you get a dog?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Bella bit her lip. "What do you mean?"

Alice stared at her for a moment. "There's an awful wet dog smell coming from your kitchen area. When did you get a dog?"

"You're no bouquet of roses either, pixie." Jacob huffed cutting Bella's rebuttal short while walking into the living room with his nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Jake?" Bella was torn between upset and thankful he was there.

She was upset because she didn't feel he trusted her, she had asked him to wait outside. On the other hand, she was thankful that he could see she was in no danger and would settle down marginally. At this point it was all she could really ask for. She had given up on the notion in thinking that the werewolves of La Push would ever deny their instincts to protect life, especially when their natural enemies were anywhere close by.

He smiled unapologetically at her. "I had to make sure you were alright." He insisted. It was his way of apologizing to her for intruding after being asked not to. He hoped she'd understand.

Bella sighed and stood from the couch, moving to hug him. "It's alright, I get it, Jake. I know." She loosely wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled up at him.

"Well I wouldn't hurt her!" Alice grumbled, not used to being ignored for any length of time. Her nose wrinkled again, the unpleasant smell that much stronger. Her eyes widened in realization. "It's you!" She cried jumping up suddenly, moving away from him while glaring.

"What's wrong Alice?" Bella wondered, watching her closely.

Alice hissed shooting a glare towards the young native. "Bella you need to move away from him now! He's not safe!" Her voice was urgent as she moved to yank Bella away from him.

Jacob growled his warning, his muscles tense and shaking. "More safe than you pixie." He stopped shaking slightly when Alice backed away.

"Bella, he's a werewolf! They're nothing but vicious and angry beasts! You need to get away from him! He'll phase and hurt you the second he loses his temper!" Alice all but screeched, fear evident in her eyes.

"I know he is. But he would also never hurt me. I'll be ok, Alice." Bella said, her eyes not leaving Jacob's. "I trust him with my life." She smiled when the tremors in his body stopped all together while their eyes stayed locked together. "He's my best friend, and truth be told, I think I kinda love him."

"No, you don't under- you know?" Alice was stunned silent.

"I know about the pack. They're my friends." Bella told her finally giving her a small smile as she once again looked at her.

"And just how many wolves do you hang around Bella? There were no wolves around when we lived here! Obviously they're trying to take over our territory! They're nothing but animals! They're not safe!" Alice insisted.

"A few." Bella shrugged, not wanting to tell her exactly how large the pack was. Jacob inwardly smirked at that. It was like she was instinctually protecting their secrets. "And they're perfectly safe!"

Alice rolled her eyes. "Bella… werewolves are NOT good company to keep!" She all but groaned.

"Speak for yourself leech!" Jacob snapped finally having had enough of her badmouthing him and his pack mates. "At least we don't lust after blood! And none of the pack have EVER broken up and left someone in the woods to freeze to death!"

Alice went rigid suddenly, her eyes glazed over slightly. She was quiet for a only few short moments as she got lost in her vision. She was staring and unfocused as everything played out like a movie clip in her mind. Her gasp after the brief silence caused Jacob's proverbial hackles to rise. "Oh no!"

"Alice? What's wrong?" Bella wondered holding tight to Jacob's hand. She needed him there to ground her. To keep her safe, even from herself right now. She relaxed slightly when she felt him gently squeeze her hand- a comforting gesture used without words to accompany it.

"It's Edward! Rosalie told him I saw you jumping off the cliffs and dying before I came here. He's going to the Volturi now to ask them to kill him! If they don't help he's going to expose us to the humans and kill himself Bella!" Alice groaned in panic.

Bella was shocked. "What? Why would he do that?"

"Because he still loves you! He thinks you're dead! He means to kill himself because he doesn't want to be without you in this life!" Alice huffed, talking to her as if she were a small child.

"He LEFT her here in the woods ALONE! What RIGHT does he have to worry anymore?!" Jacob growled quietly.

"Shh. Jake…it's ok…shh." She somehow knew he was still shaken by her near death experience after finding out Victoria had been in the water near where she had jumped off the cliff face. She also guessed he was remembering the months of catatonia after Edward first left.

"Alice, he told me I meant nothing to him. Why would he die for me? He said he never loved me. That he didn't want me anymore!" Bella huffed.

"We need to go Bella! I can explain why we left on the way to the airport, but he'll die if you don't come with me now!" Alice cried standing in a flurry of movement. "I'll have to call Jenks and tell him to secure two tickets to Volterra right this minute. There should be a private jet waiting at the airport ready to fly now-"

Alice's cold hand on her now warm arm as she tried to drag her away from Jacob and to the door shocked her. "No!" Bella yelled jumping away from the now unfamiliar touch.

Alice stopped rambling and looked at her with astonished and questioning eyes. "Bella?"

"I'm sorry I-I can't… I-I won't leave. Edward left me here… in the woods… alone. He told me I wasn't good enough for him or his family. Jake is right. I'm just now living again… it took six months to even begin to say his name again… my friends have helped me so much the past few months…so…I-I'm staying here… with Jake… and the pack." Bella said leaning into Jacob's body for support. She settled comfortably with her back against his front.

Jacob kissed her temple and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist. His chin rested easily on her shoulder as he watched the tiny vampire with a raised eyebrow. It was clearly a challenge as well as him subtly staking his claim over the brunette in his arms.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, turning black as her ire raised. "You would choose those DOGS over your family?! Bella, we love you! You may not be a vampire yet, but you belong with us!" Alice was shocked still.

Jacob's growl was quieted by Bella's lips on his skin as she leaned her head back on his shoulder and placed a gentle kiss to his jaw- a highly lupine gesture of submission- though she had no clue that she was enacting it. She moved her head back to face her once upon a time best friend and glare at the small girl.

"First of all, they're WOLVES, not dogs! Second off, JACOB was there for me- the PACK was there for me- when I needed them the most. I was nothing more than a glorified PET to you and Edward! 'Dress this way, Bella. Act that way Bella. You mustn't talk like that Bella. Don't say that Bella. Bella, think this way. BE this way.' At least with the pack I can be myself!" She hissed.

"Bella-" Alice was shocked. This was not the friend she had known, the wolves had obviously been filling her head full of lies.

"You called yourselves my family. You WOULD have been if Edward had turned me in the FIRST place! I really would have regretted it by now, but it's what I thought I wanted at the time. I had a family for the first time in forever- one that I thought loved me. Instead my boyfriend leaves me in the woods and my so called family abandons me at the drop of a hat!" She patted Jacob's arm when he flinched, took a deep breath and started again.

"You lost your chance to be my family. The pack is my family now- my REAL family. They're my friends, my brothers, my protectors, and I hope to call Jacob my boyfriend when it's all said and done." She paused to look at Jacob as she laced their fingers together. He smiled though his eyes never left Alice. "They'd not leave when it gets too tough." Bella's voice was strong and confident as it filled Jacob with pride.

"Bella, they're dangerous! They can hurt you easily! They're not stable enough to be around you without getting angry and putting scars on you!" Alice said desperately. "All it takes is just one time, just once and you'll die from the wounds they can create!"

"That was all on YOU leech! YOU were the ones who put her life in danger! Multiple times I might add! YOU were the ones who put scars on her arms! YOU were the ones who ATTACKED her!" Jacob growled, his body vibrating with rage. Alice rolled her eyes and chose to ignore him in favor of staring at the brunette in front of her.

Bella's soft hand on his arm gently rubbing his skin soothed him. "It's true. They could hurt me. It almost happened too, when I provoked Paul." She admitted with a shrug of her shoulders, thinking of how she had slapped Paul and provoked his anger before she ever knew they were werewolves. To say she had been shocked was an understatement. "But they'd not hurt me. Paul even stopped himself from attacking me. He wouldn't hurt me like that, I don't think he ever really could."

"How do you know? You just said you almost got hurt by him once. Everything I've been told about them says they are brutes and will attack with no warning!" Alice stomped her foot. "From what I see here and now, clearly I'm right."

Bella shrugged. "When it's called for, yes, they have highly volatile tempers. Paul could have torn me apart. I was the one foolish enough to smack him. That was MY fault, Alice. Not his. I provoked him! He reacted to the violence of the act- his wolf reacted to it. And for the fact that he didn't and still doesn't really trust me. He was protecting his pack. He was protecting his home. I'll admit they all have tempers, but underneath that, they are still human. Just boys with a HUGE responsibility on their shoulders. I would be a fool to turn away from them now that they've shown me their loyalty."

"But Bella-"

"Besides, they're protecting me from Victoria. That's something not even YOU thought of." Bella said with a challenging glare.

Alice gasped. "She's here?! But Edward is hunting her! He would have said something if he had seen her head towards Forks! I would have seen her decide to come back here!"

"She has the gift of evasion Alice, and she knows you can see the future, I'm sure she'd find a way to avoid making any long term decisions for a while. The pack is going to protect me now. They'll keep me safe from her till they can find a way to take her out."

Alice pouted. "You really won't come and save him then will you? Don't you care about the family at all? Didn't you love him? Don't you love him still?" she asked quietly.

Bella sighed. Jacob tensed up behind her. "I loved the IDEA of him Alice. But I gave up who I was for someone. I NEVER want to be like that again. I WILL never be like that again."

Jacob kissed her temple to hide his triumphant smile as his body relaxed. His wolf was overjoyed! Bella had finally woken up and taken stock of what was important to her. She had finally faced her past and gotten the closure she so desperately needed.

"And… you're happy?" Alice hesitantly pressed.

"And then some!" Bella assured her with a wide smile.

"Well then… I have to go save Edward from himself. Be safe Bella." Alice was very subdued and swallowed thickly. She turned to Jacob. "I'll be back when this mess with my brother is sorted out. Don't get too… comfortable." It was said quiet enough that Bella couldn't understand it but Jacob still growled his own warning though nothing else was said by him. With that, she was gone.

Bella sagged against Jacob when the door was closed and sighed. "Jake?"

"Yeah Bells?"

"Thank you." She whispered.

"For what honey?" He asked moving them to the couch. It was hard to believe all that was said while they had been standing in the doorway to the living room.

Bella hugged him tightly. "You let me do that alone. You could have left but you stayed. You could have talked over me, instead you kept calm and let me take care of it and say what I needed to say. You were there for me. Just… thank you!"

Jacob smiled. "You're welcome. I'll always be here for you Bells." He promised.

"I hope so." Bella smirked.

"Boyfriend, huh." He teased after a few minutes of quiet as he was pulling her onto his lap to be closer to her. His wolf howled inside at the admission.

Bella smiled and answered him with a chaste kiss to his lips before touching her forehead to his. A sudden thought made her giggle. That giggle cascaded into a full blown laugh when she saw Jacob's arched eyebrow of curiosity.

"What's so funny?" He wondered.

"I've never said no to Alice before. I don't think anyone ever has." She told him with a goofy smile. "She was pouting like a toddler who had been told they couldn't have any more candy!"

Jacob smirked. "She didn't seem to happy."

"No, she didn't did she? But you wanna know a secret?" She asked as her lips brushed his.

"What's that Bells?" He asked as he returned the favor.

"I'm happy." Bella whispered, her eyes closing as Jacob kissed her softly.

Jacob carefully cupped her face in one of his giant hands. "Yeah? You mean that? You're happy with me… with staying here, with not leaving?"

"I do. I am. I can just be me with you. No pretending, no caution. Just plain old, clumsy, silly me. As easy as breathing. Just Jake and Bells." She grinned.

"Jake and Bells… I think I like the sound of that." He whispered with a wide grin.

"I do too." She whispered in return wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I have to tell the pack what happened you know." He said leaning in to just barely brush his lips against hers. Her kisses were fast becoming an addiction for him- now that she was kissing him willingly at least.

Bella pouted. "Come with me to bed. Just until I fall asleep. Dad is still over at the Clearwaters' house. I don't want to be alone Jake. Please?"

Jacob smiled. "Alright. Go on, get ready for bed. I'll call Sam. Once your asleep I'll phase to show the pack what happened. After that I'll come back and lay on the couch. Sound like a plan?" He asked.

Bella gave him a wide happy smile. "Yeah. Hurry up." She laughed.

Jacob shook his head and watched her dash up the stairs, surprisingly, without tripping. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Sam's number.

'Hello?'

"Sam… you're never going to guess what just happened."

'I don't have time for guessing games, Jacob. I'm right in the middle of-' Sam was the epitome of a mad wolf at the moment.

"There was a leech at Bella's house- a Cullen." Jacob said interrupting him with a calm voice.

'What? When? Why didn't you call?!' Jacob shook off the mental picture of Sam foaming at the mouth in anger.

Jacob laughed. "Glad I have your attention. Now listen close. We're fine. I'm going to get Bella settled down. Listen for my call. Let everyone know to be phased in, what you all see MIGHT shock you. But I swear it's all true!"

'Fine. An hour.' Sam grizzled.

"sure. Sure." Jacob smirked. He'd have plenty of time to get Bella to bed.

With the phone back in his pocket and the noise quieted down from Bella's room, Jacob was slinking up the steps. He knocked, slowly opened her door and smiled when he saw her already under her covers. He crossed the floor to her bed and smiled down at her. He watched her fold back the covers and scoot over to leave room for him as well as pat the mattress beside her. She was in a black spaghetti strap tank top that could pass as second skin it was so tight, and matching and extremely short sleep shorts. He could tell based on the lack of lines that there was nothing else underneath.

"I'm not gonna bite Jake. Stop looking like you'd rather run away from me. Unless… I mean…you can leave if you want to…" Bella sighed, her smile falling slightly.

"Nuh uh. Don't think like that Bells. I want to. I'm trying to calm my hormones. My wolf wants out." He said with closed eyes.

Bella grinned coyly. "Well let him out." She said with a raised eyebrow.

Jacob licked his suddenly very dry lips. His eyes slowly faded from brown to an almost pitch black. "Bells… please… don't tempt me."

"Come here Jake. Please." Bella whispered huskily holding her hand out to him.

Jake growled then, a low predatory sound that sent shivers down Bella's spine. He smirked and crawled deliberately slowly over her prone form. "You're playing with fire Bella." He whispered gruffly against her lips.

Bella whimpered. "So don't let me get burned." She challenged before dragging him down for a searing kiss.

Jacob groaned and silently thanked his pack for the barrage of sexual images they forever flashed each other through the pack mind. Nothing was left out from anyone. As he raised one of her thighs to his waist and ground his hips against hers, lost in a world of spiraling pleasure and hunger for the woman beneath him, he couldn't help but feel a slight bit smug that he was her final choice.

His kisses moved from her lips to her ear, to her neck where he attacked the flesh with soft nips meant to leave a mark. Bella giggled at his antics before bringing their lips back together. She groaned when he pushed his hips harder against her causing pleasure to race through her body. Her nails trailed down his back hard enough to draw pink lines in his tanned skin. She smirked when he shuddered, his muscles rippling beneath the surface of his skin at her touch. She gasped when his fingers brushed over her already erect nipples through the cotton of her tank top.

A howl pierced the fog of lust surrounding the two causing Bella to freeze. Jacob tilted his head to the side in concentration and listened intently. When a second then a third, fourth, and fifth howl were raised into the air, he cursed.

"Jake?"

"It's nothing bad… well kind of. We have a new brother to welcome."

Bella smiled. "Go."

"But…"

"You can make it up to me later. Your pack needs you right now." She kissed his chest, right over his heart. "Go."

Jacob smiled, love and adoration shining in his eyes. He would never be as grateful to his gods as he was then. Bella understood him, knew when she should be clingy and when to let him do what was needed. "Even if you're not ready to say it out loud, I DO love you Bella. I always have, and I always will." He whispered.

Bella smiled. "Love you too Jake. Always." She answered him readily causing Jacob's breath to hitch. "Now go. Just come back soon." She smiled as she lay in her bed, still awake after Jacob had left her room. As sleep finally started to claim her, she couldn't help but send a silent prayer of thanks to every god, spirit, angel and higher power that she had had the strength to face her past and welcome her future.