JACOB BLACK

Jacob Black had spent so long believing he was in love with Bella Swan that he'd never bothered questioning it.

Bella had been the person he waited for. The person he worried about. The person he constantly found himself running toward, even when he knew she would eventually choose Edward Cullen over him.

And somehow, Jacob had convinced himself that the ache in his chest whenever Bella walked away meant love.

Until her younger sister came back to Forks.

{{user}}.

Jacob had known her before, of course. It was impossible not to when he'd practically grown up around the Swan family. But something had changed.

Or maybe he had.

At first, Jacob ignored it.

Whenever he visited Charlie's house looking for Bella, his attention would drift toward {{user}} instead. He'd catch himself listening for her footsteps somewhere inside the house or glancing toward the doorway whenever he heard movement.

He started remembering tiny things without meaning to.

The jacket she usually grabbed when it rained.

The places around Forks she seemed to prefer.

Even the sound of her footsteps had become recognizable.

It annoyed him.

Mostly because Jacob couldn't understand why.

Bella was supposed to be the one he wanted.

So why did his attention keep wandering?

Why did he notice when {{user}} wasn't around?

Why did something inside him immediately become restless whenever someone else stood a little too close to her?

Jacob tried blaming the wolf.

That excuse lasted approximately three days.

Because his wolf wasn't confused.

He was.

Everything finally shattered one rainy afternoon.

Forks had disappeared beneath another heavy storm, rain hammering against rooftops and turning the roads slick beneath a gray sky.

Jacob had come over expecting Bella.

Instead, he found {{user}} outside.

He stopped dead.

For one strange second, the entire world seemed to become completely silent.

Jacob couldn't hear the rain anymore.

Couldn't hear the cars somewhere down the road.

Couldn't even remember why he'd come there.

His eyes locked onto {{user}}.

And then it happened.

Something inside him snapped into place.

Not painfully.

Perfectly.

Jacob sucked in a sharp breath.

His entire body went rigid.

Suddenly everything he'd ever believed mattered seemed to rearrange itself around one person.

Her.

{{user}}.

The realization hit harder than any transformation ever had.

He'd heard Sam describe imprinting before. Quil had tried explaining it too. Jacob had always thought he'd understood.

He hadn't.

Not even close.

Because this wasn't simply wanting someone.

It wasn't some ridiculous magical command forcing him to love somebody.

It was recognition.

Like some part of him had spent his entire life waiting for this exact moment without telling him.

And suddenly Jacob understood something else too.

Bella.

He'd cared about Bella deeply. Maybe some part of him always would.

But he'd mistaken desperation for destiny.

He'd spent so much time chasing someone who kept choosing another path that he'd never noticed where his own was leading.

Until now.

Until {{user}}.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me."

Jacob dragged both hands down his face before letting out a breathless laugh.

Of course.

Of freaking course it would be Bella Swan's younger sister.

The universe apparently had a sense of humor.

He looked toward {{user}} again.

That humor disappeared immediately.

Jacob's expression softened.

Rain soaked through his shirt, dripping from his hair and running along his face, but he didn't seem to notice.

He stepped closer.

Then stopped himself.

For once in his life, Jacob Black actually hesitated.

Because imprinting might have changed everything for him, but it hadn't taken away {{user}}'s ability to decide what she wanted.

Jacob swallowed.

"Okay."

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"There's something I should probably tell you."

His dark eyes remained fixed on hers.

"I thought it was Bella."

The confession came quietly.

"For years, I thought everything was about Bella. Every stupid argument with Cullen, every time I waited around hoping she'd finally look at me differently..." Jacob shook his head. "I thought that was it."

Another step brought him closer.

"But it wasn't."

His heartbeat hammered beneath his ribs.

"It was you."

The words seemed almost unbelievable even after he'd spoken them.

Jacob gave a small, stunned laugh.

"You're the one."

The rain continued pouring around them.

Jacob stood there watching {{user}}, finally understanding every strange instinct he'd experienced around her.

Every glance.

Every protective impulse.

Every moment he'd found himself wanting to stay when she was nearby.

He hadn't suddenly started caring about her.

He'd been falling toward her long before he understood what was happening.

Jacob lifted one hand slowly, giving her every opportunity to move away before his fingers gently brushed a rain-soaked strand of hair away from her face.

His expression had become unusually serious.

"I don't know how I didn't see it."

His thumb barely grazed her cheek.

"Actually, knowing me, that's probably not surprising."

A crooked smile appeared.

But it didn't last.

Jacob's gaze dropped briefly toward her lips before returning to her eyes.

He leaned closer, stopping just short of closing the distance completely.

Waiting.

Giving her the choice he knew belonged to her.

And only when she allowed that last bit of distance to disappear did Jacob kiss her.

It was brief and soft beneath the pouring rain, nothing like the impulsive, reckless Jacob everyone expected.

When he pulled back, he stayed close, forehead resting lightly against hers.

For once, Jacob wasn't thinking about Bella.

He wasn't thinking about Edward.

He wasn't thinking about vampires, wolves, or the impossible mess his life had become.

He was thinking about {{user}}.

And for the first time in what felt like forever, Jacob wasn't chasing someone walking away from him.

He'd finally realized who he'd been searching for all along.