The sharp yelp of his pack-mate grated his ears, scratching and echoing in his inner ear.

Jacob let out an angry growl, using his strength to drag the bitten back paw belonging to Leah and throws her back across the path.

Outrage, fear, confusion— those emotions swirl around his mind unbidden, uncalled. The others freeze, emotions stalling their plan and Jacob takes this time to come in between Edward and his potential executioners (not today though, Jacob would make sure).

Jacob is growling, snarling— teeth bared and defensive, blocking Edward from their attack, from their sight. He wants Edward to just climb on and they'd run away, but he knew he needed to put down or slow down some of his pack.

Leah stands, limping. He could hear the gears turning in her head.

Traitor!

Jacob growls, inhuman— ten notches above animalistic and feral.

Imprint!

In normal cases, the imprint is to be coveted. They have laws.

You kill them, you kill me.

It was known, even among their non-shifter brethren.

It was sacred.

But it didn't seem to matter to the pack, not now.

Leah lets out a glass-shattering cry and barrels down the path to him— uncaring of hurting her ankle further, bloodied and torn though it may be. Jacob couldn't really blame her. Under all his senses screaming at him to protect, he knew that if the situations were reversed, he might've done the same.

The difference is, it wasn't reversed. Edward was his imprint, and Leah is a threat.

When Leah jumps at him, he jumps too. Jacob nipped her neck in retaliation, front paws pushing her back on pure instinct to get them further away. Away from his precious mate, his world.

Jacob hears the other's mind stall, like rusted gears trying to work.

And when Leah falls, rolling backwards yet again, all hell breaks loose.

The pack mentality swaying dangerously between two ideas: broken pact and Jacob is a traitor.

Jacob was outnumbered, of course, but the blood pumped rashly in veins and he had more power, more strength, more energy than he ever did before with the adrenaline running through him.

His jaw snapped tighter, tackled harder, claws digging into flesh and fur like a knife through melted butter. Jacob focused on them as much as he could, keeping a close ear out for any noises Edward made.

Jacob was good like this, but he couldn't keep them all occupied. He heard Edward make a cry of distress and his attention flew to his mate, cornered by a fast approaching Quill.

Jacob snarls, snapping at the snout of the one who got their teeth on his back paw during his inattention. Sam yelps and lets go, nose bloodied by the snag of teeth. Before Jacob could even turn he felt the ground shake beneath them, causing all to stop to focus on their balance.

Jacob snaps his head up to the cliff— only to see Quill huffing about in confusion. A soft oof! behind them caught his attention and he snaps his head back, watching Edward getting up on shaky limbs. His eyes widened, momentarily stupefied by whatever he had managed, before his eyes met Jacob's and he didn't even have to read Jacob's mind.

Run!

Edward takes off on lanky limbs, barreling as fast as he could in his weaker body. Half go after him with a howl— Sam, Paul, Embry, and Quill among them. Half stay and circle Jacob— Leah, of course, was among them, even though she was the fastest among them.

Without the distraction of keeping them away from his mate (despite his mate being in danger from the others), he could focus solely on his attacks.

Jacob was brutal, uncaring, and dangerous in his retaliation. Yelps and howls of pain filled their little space, until Jacob finally thought them unable to keep up as he darted to follow the scent of the rest of the pack. They were left bleeding and whimpering, and Jacob could honestly care less.

Maybe he would have cared, had they listened. He could not be held responsible for the actions of his wolf while they tried to slaughter his imprint. A fight to the death was inevitable.

He could feel tremors on the ground, a peek at what was happening. Edward doing whatever it was he could have done earlier to propel him to a different space. His senses felt flooded— heart beating too fast in its chest, his scent picking out the slightest bit of difference in a square foot, and he knew where Edward wanted to head to.

Their sanctuary, their hideaway. Perhaps if he made a big enough earthquake they would lose his scent completely.

Jacob made a harsh turn, wincing at his hurt back paw. Wincing at everything, now that he focused on running. Numerous wounds covered his body and he shook his head from the blood that threatened to drip into his eye from a cut above his brow.

There was a feeling of dread starting to fester in his stomach, squirming like a ball of worms. The meadow was coming into view, but the dread only grew when he heard the growls on the fringes of the opposite side.

Edward came into view first— doubled over on his knees, arm over his stomach and his chest heaving with harsh panting. The pack surrounded him.

As if sensing Jacob, he lifted his head. His kaleidoscope eyes shining bright in the late evening, swimming with tears as the pack jumps, jaws open.

He was too late—

"JACOB!"

Jacob startles, finding his breath harsh and his heartbeat quick. He was holding onto something, probably crushing whatever it is, his eyes glued to the ceiling above.

"Jacob!" The voice says again, and the thing he was holding squirms even though Jacob tightens his grip and hears a hiss of pain. Then a mess of hair enters his peripheral, shockingly kept despite how wildly it stood out. The thing in his arms stops squirming, and Jacob relaxes minutely, but doesn't let go.

"Jacob.." He felt a sigh on his neck, warm and inviting. Then a pair of lips, moving gently along his jugular, able to rip Jacob's throat out any minute. But somehow, he wasn't afraid of that, despite the adrenaline telling him something was wrong. The lips move more, pressing kisses along his probably straining neck and to his jaw.

"Jacob."

Jacob sucks in a breath; filling up his lungs to extreme, getting a nose-full of coffee-scent, and just underneath that, a familiar sweetness that has him blowing the breath from his lungs in an instant, melting instantly. His wound up body sags, letting go of his dangerous hold.

"Edward." Jacob sighs out, eyes no longer glued straight ahead. Edward lifts his head, giving a fretful little smile. Beyond his overwhelming relief, Jacob hopes he didn't hurt him in his hold.

"I'm okay." Edward kisses at the corner of his mouth, and Jacob's heart starts to slow. "It's alright… Another nightmare?" He questions gently, rubbing his hands up and down Jacob's sides in a soothing matter. Jacob takes another breath, exhaling it all out before nodding.

Edward doesn't apologize. He's done it in the past, but Jacob doesn't regret what they did, doesn't regret his choices.

They'll get past this, eventually.

Jacob smiles tiredly, looking down at his mate— man, does it ever feel so good to hear that. Edward wore one of Jacob's shirts, and the collar slipped down off his shoulder to reveal the scar on the juncture of his neck and shoulder, stark even against his pale flesh.

Contentment fills him, tingling from the tips of his toes to the pleasant buzz in his head.

Safe.

A clattering noise sounded beyond the confines of their bedroom and he looks up, then back at Edward with a raised brow.

"Morgana wanted to help cook breakfast." Edward says with an easy smile, uncaring for the mess he will probably walk back to. "Coffee's ready, at least." Edward doesn't try to squirm out of his embrace, knowing Jacob would only hold tighter if he tried to leave before he was ready to let go.

Slowly, Jacob drops his arms in increments. Edward smiles, slipping out and giving a kiss before sauntering out of the room.

Jacob takes a few more steadying breaths, eyes roaming about their room.

Bright light filtered through the floor to ceiling windows that lead out to their balcony, but the clock on the wall says 3:25 am. Jacob sighs again. He has no idea why they're up at three in the morning, nor does he question why Edward decided to move them to a place that has the sun present at all hours in a day.

Sure, it seemed like a good idea. They were away from the mainland, they lived in a small town, the education system here was phenomenal.

Jacob just didn't understand why it had to be Iceland, of all places.

But the mate gets what he mate wants, and Edward is happy here.

Stretching, Jacob finally stretches out and sits up, hearing the pops in his bones with satisfaction. He could smell the freshly brewed coffee from their room, now, along with mouthwatering breakfast foods.

As he came across their flat, he heard the chattering of his mate and Morgana, and he leans against the wall to watch them.

Edward was wearing an apron, a simple little maroon thing with a messy bow at the back, and some pink butterfly barrette in his hair— at the behest of Morgana, of course. Morgana was wearing something similar, concentrating hard to get the scapula under the pancake grilling on the skillet so she could flip it.

Yes, she was their child. A human child.

Jacob had forgotten how this came to be, exactly. All he really remembers was one day Edward comes home, covered in blood from a recent hunt, with the child in his arms.

She needs a family. Edward told him, imploring. Jacob never could say no.

Jacob never thought about if Edward killed the father, never asked, and it felt to weird say that he doesn't really care about it either. He knows Edward hunts, and when he does it to bad people.

Once they had her, they moved from Alaska to Ísafjördur, Iceland.

Morgana didn't look like either of them, but that was okay. The town barely asked questions about their weird family. It had less than three thousand people and everyone practically knew each other.

"Jacob!" Morgana calls, smile wide and triumphant as the pancake was put on the plate, even if it was misshapen. Jacob smiles back, coming over to kiss her head good job.

Sometimes it still felt surreal. Their life, that is.

It'd been nearly a year since they were last in Washington, Forks or otherwise. Nearly a year since Edward had almost been torn to bits.

And yet here they stand, together, unmaimed, in their home in Ísafjördur, Iceland, taking care of a child, no less. Making breakfast at near four in the morning, when everybody should be asleep.

You see? Surreal.

It was more than okay, though.

Morgana lived with them happily, accepting them as pseudo-parents and assuming her identity in a new town. Sometimes, Jacob is frightened of her. Not because she's particularly scary, but because she's scarily observant.

Maybe her life back in Alaska had opened her eyes to a lot of things, beings like them included. She didn't shy away from Edward the first time he forgot to put away the redness in his irises, she didn't shy away from his fangs when he smiles. Hell, just last week she saw Jacob transform and yet she still didn't cower.

"Alice is coming to visit today." Edward says by way of explaining the unasked question. "Her plane should be landing soon." Jacob nods, stealing a strip of cooked bacon that sat in a heap on a plate.

Jacob loved Alice. Really, he does. Over the months during their escape from his pack, Alice had been an instrumental player in their success.

Edward wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Alice, really. And he's glad she didn't ask questions when she had seen a vision of Edward attacked by werewolves, something she was never able to see, and dropped whatever she was doing to run to the place she saw.

Alice didn't even ask questions when Edward held onto Jacob, who carried Edward back to the Cullen house where the entire Cullen family stood stock still in shock. She just told everyone else to shut up (once the questions started to fly), got a suitcase of clothes ready, gave Jacob some of Emmett's clothes (at the complete disregard of Emmett's feelings, thank you), and shoved them both into her little yellow Porsche and drove.

She ignored the constant ringing of her phone on the Bluetooth until whoever was calling got annoyed at her hanging up at the next second after it started to ring.

Somehow, it seemed that Alice knew what was happening, for when they crossed the border, Alice drove until her car no longer had gas, coming to a little cottage. There they spent a few hours to shower and dress wounds, Alice constantly fussing over Edward even without admittedly asking what the hell was going on. And from there, she called them a cab, told them to stay safe as the cab took them to the city.

For all Jacob knew, she probably took the car and set it on fire, along with the cottage.

Overkill, really. The pack couldn't hunt further than Quillette land, and they were far enough away they could have relaxed.

Jacob was just glad for Alice getting them as far away as possible. What happened was different than anything the pack had done before. They could have kept hunting them, had they not been as beaten as they were.

By the time he and Edward settled down in Alaska a week later, he'd heard that the Cullen family had scattered from Forks, and somehow, though Alice's grapevine, that the pack was trying to find them.

It was a good thing they were literary countries away.

A fierce knocking came from the door and Jacob rolls his eyes. "There's Alice." He hums, stepping back to let them finish breakfast while he opens the door.

The second he does he has an armful of tiny Alice. He hugs her back, only wrinkling his nose just a tad at her close scent. When she lets go, she does the same and they break out in a laugh. Since, what Jacob now called, the getaway, their scents seemed to have mellowed out to each other. Hers was still sickeningly sweet, but it no longer made him gag to stand next to her.

Jacob stood back and let her skip inside, following the smell of food. Jacob looked up at Jasper, who stood awkwardly on the porch, out of place. After a few seconds of terse seconds, Jacob rolls his eyes and opens the door wider before going back to the kitchen, an obvious invitation.

It's louder in the kitchen now, with Alice talking almost nonstop with Morgana as they set up the table. Edward cleans up the mess they've made, catching Jacob's eye and grinning.

When they sit at the table, it's Jasper who awkwardly migrates in at a snail's pace. He sits, uncertain, surveying everyone at the table eating heartily. Morgana talks with her mouth full, making Edward sigh around his forkful. Jacob practically swallowing his food without chewing. At the corner of his eye, he sees Alice pick up a strip of bacon and nibbles delicately.

Her golden eyes had speckles of red. Not as much as Edward's, but it showed.

Alice's eyes widen at the taste before grinning widely, continuing to nibble and savor each new bite.

"How are Esme and Carlisle?" Edward asks, eyes on his sister. She smiles brightly.

"Good. They're great. They took up your old house in Alaska."

Jasper purses his lips, and it catches Jacob's attention. He knows, from a few conversations with Alice, that he doesn't feel right to do whatever is they do, even if it brings them humanity. Jacob sees his control slipping, though, and he guesses the next time they go hunting (tonight, actually) he'll cave and go with them.

Jacob smile to himself, listening to the pleasant chatter of his now family. He'd have never thought he would end up friends with bloodsuckers. Never mind them actually becoming his new pack, even if they didn't have such dynamics.

Jacob was alpha. He took care of them, especially once they lose their superhuman strength and speed, helps them hunt. He remembers just last month, how Rosalie was disturbed at her lack of speed and strength, but enamoured with the beating in her chest that drove her to tears like it had once driven Edward. Emmett was less inclined to do it, but Rosalie would break his morale against it eventually. Jacob knew, that when Morgana grows older, and if she'd want, they'd get her to become one of them, somehow.

It seemed to be the dawn of a new era. Which era that was, he really couldn't say. But it felt good, great. Like he finally belonged.

After breakfast they all got ready, packed up the truck, and went to the forest reserve. The sun, hanging just above the horizon even past dinner time, lit up their night.

Stretching out and popping his back, Jacob readied himself to shift before Jasper approached him, hesitant. It took a minute, with Jasper pursing his lips unsurely, mouth opening and closing before—

"Can I hunt with you?"

A/N: Hope you liked it! At first I really wanted to have like two one shots with a bad and a happy ending, but I just decided to incorporate the bad ending into this one lmao with the use of s dream/nightmare.

Notes on Morgana: I don't even think that's her real name lol. But she goes by it. I'm thinking she might've been stolen from a different pack which is why she isn't scared of them. And when she grows up she'll come into her own pack.

Notes on the vampiric changes: I think when I first started this years ago I thought that everybody would have this one special person to each vampire, and that one person could trigger this transformation (for Edward it was Bella, because he couldn't read her). But now I'm like stuck on what kind of tact I wanna use lol sooo, for now let's just say the thing they're really missing was the thing in the bone marrow that helps them be more human. And just think that somehow the laws of anything don't apply but somehow work, thank you.

Other notes: They're just one big happy family now. Rosalie jumped at the prospect of being human, followed by Alice.