As always, thank you for sticking with me! All my love to those still enjoying my story.

I waited for Jake's reaction with bated breath. He had just displayed immense control over the past hour and I wasn't sure how long he could keep it up, especially now knowing that Edward had threatened me...

His eyes were jammed shut and he took long calming breaths through his nose while the muscles of his biceps flexed and pulsed.

I prayed that once his eyes met mine again they were still the same honey brown that made me feel so safe and cherished.

"Explain it to me, tell me what happened." He forced from his lips almost painfully. He was still my Jacob for now. "Did he... hurt you, baby? Is that why you came here?" He crouched down and began pulling at the blanket that was clutched by both hands just under my chin. Grabbing my face with long russet fingers he moved my head first to the left and then to the right. His eyes scanned over my chest and breasts, searching my body for any evidence of mistreatment. My cheeks flared hot under his inspection regardless of the fact that I had just cum all over his leg only five minutes ago.

Jacob started to pant as he removed my blanket entirely in his quest to find markings on my skin. I sensed that he was spiraling into a hole of concern for me and I jumped into action before the Alpha could. The Alpha who simultaneously wanted to violently dominate me and keep me protected and sheltered from harm.

I rejected the instinct to cover myself and propelled myself forward into Jacob's chest, wrapping both arms around his neck and fisting the short hair at the nape. "I'm okay Jake. Look at me; I'm fine. Shhh, calm down." I pressed my lips forward and lightly began to suck at the pulse point below his ear, rubbing my tongue back and forth across the skin. Some force deep inside me knew that this was the first step toward soothing the animal beneath the surface.

I wasn't sure when I had become so comfortable with Jake that I could hold him this intimately, but for some reason I felt an overwhelming need to touch and give him comfort. My thoughts were soon silenced by whispered words in Quileute and a soft rumble emanating from the male in my grasp.

The rumble turned to muted moans as I continued drawing hot skin into my mouth. Jake's arms circled my naked back, drawing soft patterns with his thumbs.

After a few minutes I released the hold I had on him with a pop of my lips, revealing the moist patch of dark pink that stained his milky brown complexion. I stared at it... confused. Why had I done that?

"Jacob?" I questioned, pulling my head back and resting my temple against his, suddenly overcome with a nervous energy.

"Hmm, Bells?" He replied with eyes closed, still caught up in his moment of bliss.

"What's happening? Why did I just... do that to you?" I asked him, gesturing to his shoulder with a turn of my head. The behavior was just too out of character for me to ignore. But in the moment, it had felt so natural. So right.

He opened his eyes and peered into mine, confusion smudging his features as he recalled the way I had just suckled against him.

Bringing his hand up and across his chest, he drug a heavy finger across the new mark and the growing silence of the room was cut sharply by his startled inhale.

"I—I don't know, honey." He continued to rub it gently and his eyes rolled back with pleasure. "But we need to get dressed. It's time we visited Old Quil. He's got to know something about this. Come on."

I followed Jake as he led me down the narrow hallway, pausing as he ducked inside his bedroom to grab a small stack of clothing. With the garments in one hand, he used the other to open the bathroom door across the hall, ushering me inside and trailing behind.

Before I could open my mouth to question his following me, Jake once again gathered me into his arms and deposited me gently onto the countertop. He stood in front of me and brought my hair forward over my shoulders. I could tell without looking that his chocolate eyes were continuing their search in the mirror behind me for bruises on my back.

"Jake..." I sighed. "I promise you I'm okay. Edward didn't touch me." I reached up and ran my fingertips across the black stubble on his chin and my mind drifted to a memory of the younger, more carefree boy he had once been. It still shocked me sometimes to realize the strong and powerful man he had become almost overnight.

He closed his eyes and turned his neck to leave an open mouth kiss on the creamy pale skin of my thumb, lightly grazing it with his teeth.

"Bella, I just... I can't stand the thought of someone else touching you. You know that I've always loved you. And my wolf... well... he's claimed you as his...not physically...but in our mind." He spoke so raw and vulnerable. "All we want is to barricade you in my bedroom and hide you from everything bad and grow your belly round with puppies." The slightest tinge of pink highlighted his cheeks and he looked toward the floor.

Normally I would scold him for this kind of talk, but now I felt the need to soothe and be near him.

"Come on honey, let's get you dressed. Arms up." He changed the subject, bringing an old tee shirt of his sister's over my head to cover my breasts. He handed me a pair of his own pre-phase black sweats and said he'd wait for me in the living room to finish dressing. I threw my hair into a damp messy bun and took a cleansing breath, anxious to hear Old Quil's perspective on Jake and mine's situation. I knew we needed answers before... whatever this was... completely consumed us both.

The storm outside continued to ravage the landscape as Jake's Rabbit navigated the winding forest roads with ease. I felt relaxed knowing that his supernatural sight could easily pierce the rain and keep us on course.

I had seen the elderly man on quite a few occasions growing up near the reservation. When he spoke at all, which was rare, he spoke mostly in riddles I did not understand as a child. He tended to keep the company of those within his tribe, never engaging too much with untrusted outsiders. I wondered what his reaction would be when he saw me today...

A squatty brown cottage sat nestled against the bank of the river and smoke billowed from the chimney, filling the air with the thick scent of pine and incense. His home looked almost exactly as I had imagined it would, inviting yet ominous, like it held many secrets of the past, both good and bad.

Jake interlaced our fingers loosely as we walked the path toward the entrance, sensing my slight unease and need for reassurance. The front door, carved intricately with ravens and whales opened before we ever had a change to knock, and the white haired man from my memory appeared before us with a knowing expression.

"Young Alpha, miss Swan, I wondered when I'd see you two on my land." He turned around and walked into the house. Jake and I shared a confused glance and shrugged before advancing into the empty space he left behind.

We walked past shelves lined with jars of dried herbs and leather bound books with Quileute titles, heading toward an arranged circle of floor pillows at the back of the house.

"Sit. Let's talk of what troubles you." The old man shifted his wrinkle-rimmed eyes back and forth between the two of us. Jake took charge initiating the difficult conversation.

"We're here today to seek guidance." He cleared his throat before continuing. "My wolf is drawn to Bella... in a very... sexual way." The statement came out as more of a question. A slight blush once again painted his cheeks, but his voice did not falter. "More than once he has acted beyond my control, and I'm worried about how... far things might go. Honestly, I'm worried for her safety around me."

"And yet you have not imprinted on this woman?" Old Quil's curious gaze remained on my face as he spoke to Jake.

"No." My heart clenched at this known admission and Jake looked at me for a moment like he could tell. I knew I shouldn't feel bothered by this. "But the urge to claim and…mate ... is so strong. These feelings have always been reserved for those who are imprinted. I do not understand why my wolf will not let her be."

Quil's brow furrowed for a brief second before he reached for a large black book on a nearby shelf. He flipped through its tea-stained, tattered pages before stopping on a particular passage.

His eyes lifted to connect with Jake's. "She has marked you." It didn't sound like a question.

Jake lifted his fingers to trace the smudge of purple that my mouth had tattooed between his neck and shoulder. He said nothing.

The two men stared intensely at each other and shared whispered words in Quileute, and my anxiety grew astronomically being kept in the dark.

"No. I won't." Jacob exclaimed firmly as he moved his frame in front of mine, assuming a protective stance, the reason why I couldn't tell.

"The ritual is written, young Alpha."

My hand slipped into Jake's grasp as he pulled me toward the front door and away from the old man. His expression resembled something between fear and annoyance and I felt more confused than ever, but I let him lead me from the small home without any resistance.

He barely looked at me as we drove and I waited until the long dirt road turned to pavement before addressing him.

"Jake?" He sighed heavily in response, knowing I would seek explanation.

"Hey Bells." He flashed me a strained half-smile.

"Well... what did he say? I'm feeling like a deer in headlights over here. You've got to give me something?" I spoke with an expectant gesture of my arm, eyebrows raised.

Another loud sigh left his lips as he pulled the Rabbit off to the side of the road, running a stressed hand through his cropped locks.

"Old Quil keeps the full records of our tribal histories." He looked reluctant to share but continued to speak. "He found a passage within the texts... There was mention of a wolf who once laid claim upon a woman of the tribe without... fully claiming her."

"You mean imprinting?" I asked him. His eyes connected with mine with a slight nod of his head.

"Among other things." I blushed. "There was a ritual performed, like Quil mentioned. Where the shifter and woman spent a night alone under a full moon within a small cave reserved for spirit walking. It was there that a special blend of incense was burned to awaken the wolf within the man, but deny the full transformation to animal."

I tried to swallow the nervous lump in my throat.

"He believes that my wolf needs to confront you... face to face. That he is the one who needs to decide how to proceed when it comes to you... not me."

Jacob had always been able to read me and he took my silence for what it was, a fierce debate inside my own head.

He shook his head gravely. "I can't put you in that position, Bells. With Quil's incense and the full moon energy.. I won't be able to restrain myself if my wolf decides to... take it too far. I know he wants to. I can't hurt you again, honey."

I'm positive Jake heard the quickening of my heartbeat and reached across the center console to tenderly grasp my clammy hand, running his thumb across the thin skin of my knuckles.

After a few moments of silence I squeezed his hand back. "I think we both know that this is the only way to really find out what's going on between us Jake..."

"But Bella... I'm scared." He unbuckled my seatbelt and pulled my arm until I leaned toward him, bringing my cheek to cradle against his strong chest. "I promised to protect you from myself too, remember?" He whispered into my hair.

I mustered all the strength I could find and projected it into my voice.

"I will be okay, Jake. Whatever happens." He sighed a deep, uncertain breath and held me a little tighter than before.

"Then let's tell Quil to prepare. The full moon shines tomorrow night."