Jacob

I watch as Derek chases after Medeia and my eyes immediately move towards Ana, wondering if she is okay. The look on her face as her eyes stare past me at the now closed door breaks my heart.

"Are you okay?" I ask, hoping she understands I am not asking about her injuries, but about what had just occurred.

"Yes, I'm used to it," she answers quietly as she stares at me.

Her face shows she is okay with Medeia attacking her, but I can see the underlying hurt in her eyes. I know Derek is the reason for it.

I swallow, trying to find the words to ask her the question that has been burning in my mind since Medeia's screaming got my attention.

I focus on the way she looks down at her hands, the steady rise and fall of her chest as she breathes. The sight reminds me of her lifeless form in my arms as I pulled her out of the ravine. Her chest barely moved as I waited for her to give me some sign that she was okay.

I let the relief seep out of me as I focus on her now. And how her steady breathing fills the room, mingling with mine in a symphony that has my head spinning.

"Why are you here?" she asks, curiosity shining in her eyes as she stares at me. Her head tilted slightly as she waits for an answer.

"Did you and Derek break the bond?" I ask, ignoring her question as mine barrels out of me with a force that surprises me.

I move closer to Ana as I wait for her to answer. I can see the inner battle going on in her eyes as they darken. I know she is trying to find an answer that won't upset me. An answer that won't make me want to kill him, and unless he broke it off, no words will stop me from wanting to do that. Especially after seeing Ana and her Omega not responding to anything.

"Ana," I say, trying to get the answer out of her after a minute or two of waiting for her to answer.

"No, he said he will think about it," she mumbled. Her hands are on the edge of the blanket, playing with it as she looks down at them. Avoiding my eyes as if she was hoping not to disappoint me.

I take a step back as though her words were like a bullet to the chest, making my blood run cold as it hits my heart. I know her answer was going to be something along those lines. But her words immediately blew the small light of hope I had kept light out at the thought of my Beta being a heartless coward.

"Oh Ana," I say, walking towards her, knowing what she witnessed with Derek and Medeia was not be easy. Especially with her and Derek being mated. I can see the hurt in her eyes, the tears brimming as she keeps them in check.

Not allowing him to break her in any other way.

"He is a fucking coward," I grit out, my jaw clenching as my hand forms a tight fist at my side. Squeezing my fists so tightly, I feel my knuckles turning white. Trying to control my rising anger.

"He should stop causing issues that could be easily solved," I add, letting my thoughts out. I'm angry with Derek for not being a man and stepping up.

She just nods her head at me, and I can see the way she is trying not to let her anger and hurt out.

Her attempt to be strong in front of me makes me rush towards her and hold her in my arms. I fight the sigh that wants to escape my mouth at the feeling of Ana being wrapped in my arms, pressed against me as she rests her head on my shoulder.

Her hands take a few minutes to wrap around my neck, but as soon as they do, I squeeze her tighter. I hold her as she quietly cries against me, and I know this isn't just about Derek. Years of pent-up emotions are flowing out of her, including her shock and fear of falling into the ravine, conjured up memories, and the realization she was alive.

Ana is alive, the thought repeats in my mind. I hold her tighter as I remind myself she is okay, that she is still there with me. That I have lost no one else, and I am stunned at the overwhelming feeling of her being in my arms at the end.

We stay like that for a few minutes, my hand moving into her hair as I hold her, letting her sobs fill the air as she lets it all go.

She pulls away as her sobs quieten, and my arms loosen around her. My hand stays on her waist as we stare at each other.

Our heads are close to each other, my eyes drifting down to her lips as I remember the way they felt against mine. The taste of them and I can't help but want to taste them again. To once again experience the emotions that come when I kiss Ana. The way her body responds to my touch.

"Are you okay?" I ask, my voice quiet as the question comes out in a gentle whisper. My head moves slightly closer to her, wanting to be near to her and her addictive taste.

"Yes." she replies, her voice breathless as she stares at me. Her eyes drift down to my lips and a grin forming on my face as her eyes quickly shoot back up to my eyes. A light red dusting colors on her cheeks as she realizes I caught her staring.

I squeeze her hips gently and the motion must've caused her to find some of the courage she needed to ask whatever is on her mind.

"Did you save me?" she asks, unsure about who it was. Dread fills me with the notion that she has forgotten what happened at the riverbank.

"I did," I say, both of us whispering as we try not to break the tension building at this moment.

I watch as she glances down, her eyes taking in the shirt she is wearing. My eyes follow hers as I trace her figure in the shirt, and save the image of her in something belonging to me.

I puff my chest out when she stares back at me, her eyes filled with glee as her cheeks have a full-blown blush.

"Thank you," she says.

I tilt my head at the words that leave her mouth. Confused why she would feel the need to thank me.

"No need to thank me, Ana," I reply, my voice louder as I try to convey my actions as a normal thing to do and not some heroic moment.

"No Jacob," she starts, her head moving side to side as she shakes it. "You didn't need to save me; you should've left me to drown," she says, moving back slightly, breaking the bubble that we were in.

The world comes rushing back as the reality of her words set in and I suck a breath in, trying to get my lungs to fill with air.

"What do you mean I should've left you?" I ask, my hand leaving her waist as I stand up and stare at her.

"I couldn't let you fucking die, Ana." I say, my voice filled with hurt as I remember seeing her pale face in my mind, her wet hair stuck to it as she looks lifeless, void of color and emotion.

"You should have let me die," she grits out, her eyes glazing over as she finally voices her emotions to the world. To me. And my heart breaks at the fact that she is angry with me because I didn't let her die.

"Why? People need you," I say. My mind adds on the fact that I need her, knowing that she wouldn't believe me if I had said it.

She lets out a sarcastic laugh at my words.

"No one wants me, never mind needs me, Jacob," she says, her words full of spite as she spits them out.

I know she did not aim them at me, but my heart breaks at her admitting that she feels no one wants her. I shake my head at how wrong she is.

"Someone out there wants you; I know it, okay?" I tell her, trying to reassure her.

My mind is screaming, 'it's me, Ana, I want you!' I know she can't read my thoughts, but I just want her to realize and to understand I need her the most.

"Like who? My parents? My friends? They are all dead, Jacob. Because of something I did, they all died," she says. Her head hangs low as she admits to being the reason for losing everyone in her life.

I can't help the anger that rises in me hearing she believes she is the reason she has lost anyone.

"You have done nothing wrong," I whisper, but she doesn't even acknowledge my words, instead she continues down her self-destructive path.

"Please tell me who I still have in this world. My mate would much rather watch me suffer in pain than be with me. The only person who understood me is dead because of me. My mom, the only person who truly loved me, is dead and hasn't been there to help me through most of this. So, please tell me who the fuck still wants me in this world?" she asks.

The tears stream down her face as she glares at me, not acknowledging the tears and hoping that they disappear.

"You have me," I say quietly. I know she won't believe me and the way she scoffs at my words is enough to confirm it.

"How do I have you, Jacob?" she asks. I know she doesn't think of me as anything in her life. The thought breaks me, my body feeling as if it is being split in two as her words slice through me.

"You left me as soon as she left us. You weren't there during the nightmares, during the torment as I sat there alone for years, waiting for you to come back and help me through it," she spits out.

The truth of her words makes me hang my head in shame as the guilt of her not having anyone fills me. I still had Derek, Kimon and the pack to help me after losing Gisele, while she wasn't even looked at. No one asked if she was okay, instead our backs were turned away from her as we left her to grieve in her own way.

"But I'm here now," I say, hoping that me being there for her now would mean something to her. Maybe it would make her realize she is still wanted, still needed.

"You are a few years too late for that," she admits.

Her voice is quieter now as she calms down. My body itches to be closer to her, to console her as she realizes she is not alone in the world.

"You should've let me die," she says again as she lay back down on the bed. Her sobs quieter and I just stand there, watching her break into pieces as she repeats the words.