Update: A/N: I started writing this before Breaking Dawn came out and I'm not about to change it to make it align with Stephenie Meyer's twisted plot. So bascially it starts right after Eclipse and continues from there.

Summary: Jacob Black isn't taking Bella's transformation very well. Leah Clearwater, tormenter to everyone in the pack, is the last person he ever expects to show compassion. When Jacob finds himself falling in love with Leah, he finds out there is a lot more to her than he expected.

Chapter I

Jacob's POV:

The rain poured down relentlessly, soaking me to the bone. The thick canopy of the forest offered very little protection considering the intensity of the downpour. I curled up in a ball at the base of a large hemlock tree, burying my snout in my rusty brown fur. I closed my eyes, listening to the constant patter of the rain.

I tried to forget.

I shivered, wishing that the sun would shine for once in this damn town. It began to rain harder. Somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled. I rose to my feet, shaking the rain from my fur like a dog. I glanced around the dripping forest, looking for a drier place. There was none. I collapsed on the ground again in defeat.

There was no forgetting.

It had been a week since the wedding, the wedding that I had not attended. A week since they had left, she had left. A week was long enough for her to disappear completely from my life, long enough for the dreaded transformation to take place, long enough for her to become my enemy.

The rain eventually began to fade. Dull beams of sunlight began to appear between the patches of leaves. A peaceful silence filled the forest. For a minute, I allowed myself to savor that peace, to let go of my anguish.

JACOB BLACK! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? The angry words filled my mind, as loud as if they had actually been spoken.

Damn. A small grey wolf headed towards me. Leah. She made no effort to mask her fury. Sam had sent her, no doubt.

Just go away. Even to me, my words did not seem very convincing.

Jake, you have to stop this. Sam told me to come get you.

So I was right. Why couldn't Sam just back down for once?

Because you're being pathetic and self-centered. You have to get over it. Do you know how annoying it is to see Bella's face every time we phase?

I winced at the casual use of Bella's name. I had been avoiding it.

See? I could've sworn I saw a smile form on the snout of the small grey wolf. You can't even think her name how pathetic you are. Even I wasn't that bad with Sam.

At once, I saw the pain she would've been easily able to mask if she had been in human form. Despite what she said, she was clearly not over Sam yet. At least she wasn't as bad as she used to be. Seeing Sam without any clothes had never really thrilled the pack.

Leah snarled as I remembered her memories.

Look, can we just get out of here? Sam told me I wasn't allowed to leave until I got you to come with me. She was clearly irritated. As she paced back and forth, she began humming 'It's a Small World' over and over in her head, no doubt trying to annoy me. It was obvious she was not going to leave me alone until she completed her mission.

It took her less than two minutes.

Oh fine! I caved. Not only was Leah getting on my nerves, but I was also extremely hungry.

If a wolf could appear smug, Leah definitely pulled it off. I think Emily's cooking burgers for dinner. And I know that's your favourite.

I involuntarily began to lick my lips.

Let's get going, Leah urged, disappearing into the forest. I quickly caught up with her. We ran at a brisk pace back toward the reservation. We stopped in a small clearing by Sam's house to phase. The sight of Leah's naked body didn't bother me as much as it used to. She was beginning to feel like, well, a sister.

As soon as I had phased, I realised that in my state of anger, I had forgotten a pair of shorts. Embarrassed, I crouched down to phase back into wolf form until we got to Sam's house, but before I could phase, I felt something hit my face. A pair of shorts.

I turned to look at Leah, who was pulling a thin t-shirt over her torso.

"I have a little brother. I know how stupid boys can be," she smiled at me.

"Thanks." I returned the smile, pulling on the shorts.

For a moment I almost forgave her. It wasn't really her fault anyway. Sam was the real culprit, the one who bossed everyone around and never let anyone have their space.

"Ew, Jake, when was the last time you took a shower?" Leah wrinkled her nose as I approached her. "You stink."

I grinned sheepishly, trying to remember the last time I had bathed.

The smell of grilling burgers and greasy bacon greeted us as we entered Sam's house. My stomach rumbled loudly. Leah grinned.

As we entered the kitchen, Emily greeted us, beaming.

"You guys are back already?" she seemed surprised, probably because I was usually so stubborn. "The rest of the pack should be here in about half an hour."

Apparently Sam had expected me to put up more of a fight.

"So are you feeling better, Jacob?" Emily came over to give me a hug. She stopped before she could even get her arms around me. "Get upstairs and take a shower immediately. There will be no food for you until you smell decent." She could be so much like a mother sometimes.

I groaned, my stomach rumbling again. I headed up the steps to the bathroom, figuring the quicker I showered, the sooner I'd be able to eat. Though I showered quickly, I took care to use a lot of soap. Knowing Emily, she'd send me right back upstairs if I didn't clean myself thoroughly.

I dressed quickly in one of Sam's outfits (Since we were all around the same size, we often swapped clothes when necessary.) I headed down the steps a bit too eagerly in spite of myself. I stopped short, though, just before entering the living room.

Leah and Sam we sitting on the couch, their heads close together, whispering furtively.

"—and thanks for volunteering to get Jake today. I hope he didn't give you too much trouble," I heard Sam say.

Wait. Since when had Leah volunteered to get me? She had made it seem like it was Sam's orders.

"He wasn't too terrible, surprisingly. And I was glad to do it. You know, I do understand how he's feeling." She shot Sam a significant look. He turned away, looking embarrassed.

I began to cogitate this information. Leah was feeling sorry for me? She had quite an odd way of showing it, considering the way she had treated me this afternoon.

They exchanged a few more whispers, too quiet for me to hear. After a moment, they both rose and headed for the kitchen. When I was sure the coast was clear, I joined them.

"I think your skin went a whole shade lighter," said Emily, smiling. She came over to give me a hug. "Much better. Now you smell like my cherry body wash."

I made a face, and Leah giggled.

Sam approached me, a serious look on his face. "Jacob, you have to stop running off like this. Bella's gone. She made her choice. You have to accept that."

I wanted to slap him, and I might have if the rest of the pack hadn't come running into the kitchen.

"Are those burgers I smell?" Quil asked eagerly. "Man, am I hungry!"

"You're always hungry," stated Embry, pushing past Quil to get to the chips and dip Emily had put out.

The tension was immediately forgotten as Emily began to hand out burgers. I ended eating the most (six) with Leah following closely behind with five. After eating practically every scrap of food in the house, we all headed back home.

On the way out, Sam shot me a look. "Remember what we talked about, Jacob."

I turned to lunge at him, but Leah blocked me and dragged me to the door.

"That's your cue to leave," Leah whispered, shoving me out the door.

My anger faded as I headed back toward my house, which was all of two minutes away from Sam's.

When I entered through the back door, I saw Dad and Charlie sitting at the kitchen table, finishing up a meal of freshly caught fish.

"Hi Dad. Hi Charlie," I greeted them.

Dad grunted at me. We weren't really on speaking terms these days. He didn't approve of the way I was handling myself lately.

"Hey, Jake," Charlie said, a hint of sadness in his voice. "Have you heard from Bella lately?" he asked almost too hopefully.

"Sorry, no," I told him and added in my head: But I do know that wherever she is, she is mostly likely a bloodsucking vampire and you'll never see her again.

"Well, its probably stupid of me for worrying. They are on their honeymoon after all. I just thought she would've dropped a quick call home by now." He sighed. Poor Charlie. Bella was practically all he had in this life.

"I'd better be going now," Charlie said, heaving himself up from the table. "Great dinner, Billy. See you guys around."

Dad and Charlie exchanged goodbyes as I headed up stairs to my room. As I crawled into bed, I couldn't help wondering if there was something else I could've done to prevent Bella from choosing the fate that she did.