Searching for Jacob Black was beyond stupid. I had way better things to do, but no one else seemed to care enough to take the time to hunt him down. Sam and the rest of the pack insisted on sitting tight and waiting for his return. Well, I could care less about what Sam thought. I'd had about enough of this nonsense.
Freshly fallen snow crunched beneath my paws as I maneuvered my way through the West Siberian plain. The piercing wind stung my fur covered cheeks. All the fur in the world wouldn't be enough for this horrid climate. A mile from the Bering Strait, I could feel my legs start to give in when I saw a faint flicker of light in the distance. My vision was blurred from the snowflakes bombarding my eyes, though I could see just enough to where reaching the light would be doable. As I approached, the light-and what surrounded it-became clearer. The light emanated from an opening at the base of a petite mountain.
Suddenly, something froze me dead in my tracks.
It was a voice. Only a voice. It would be like if someone was speaking you without moving their mouth. Like you could hear their thoughts.
Jacob.
I quickened my pace until I entered the obscure cave, my heart pounding in my chest.
It was then that I saw him laying there. A russet brown wolf lay sleeping on the frigid ground, his face tranquil as could be.
Jake, what the hell is going on?
Leah? What are you d-
I came to put an end to your moping. Just come back home already.
Why do you care? Oh, right, you miss irritating the living crap out of me.
As hard as it may be to believe, I just miss you. It was true. Life wasn't the same without Jake. He was the only person in the pack that I didn't mind talking to every once in a while. Of course, there were also countless times when I wanted nothing more than to kill him. Mainly due to the fact that he's obsessed with that unbelievably human girl. Bella.
The hell you do.
Anger raged inside me. You know what? Fine. I'm done here. Enjoy your pity party. There were so many other things that I had wanted to say, but I no longer felt like wasting my breath. I whipped my body around and trotted back out into the bitter Siberian cold.
The snow had frozen solid, making it difficult for my paws to get a firm grip on it. The wind, which had somehow grown even more intense than before, bit at my cheeks again. After only a few moments, my vision was virtually nonexistent. All feeling I once had was now gone. I resorted to making a run for it.
A mere five seconds passed before my legs collapsed beneath me. Except they didn't.
I yelped.
The icy ground beneath my paws shattered and tumbled into the Bering Strait, taking me with it.
Jacob!
I began to whimper in fear. A single thought reverberated through my mind: I don't want to die. I don't want to die.
More whimpers escaped my lips, much louder than before.
Clinging to what was left of the ice, I suddenly noticed a blur of red and brown racing toward me. Jake?
With each second, my grip on the remaining ice grew more and more feeble. I clawed upward until neither paw could retain contact with the ice any longer. The entirety of my wolf body began to submerge in the freezing water.
The ice cracked around each paw and, finally, I no longer had a grip.
It was then that I felt a set of teeth clench around my arm and yank me out of the water. I lay motionless on the icy ground, now in my human form. Blinking a few times, I saw the red and brown blur retreating back the way it came. "No…please…come back…" But it was useless. He was gone.
The next time I blinked was the last.
After what felt like a few moments, my eyelids slid slowly open to reveal a crackling campfire illuminating a dusky room. I was wrapped in a brown semi-comfortable blanket. Slowly, I sat up straight and brushed hair from my face. "How long was I out?" I murmured.
Jacob stifled a laugh. "Long enough."
"Whatever. Hope you don't die, Jake." I didn't make it three steps before he called after me.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Home. I tried talking sense into you, Jacob Black, but clearly it's impossible."
"Leah, wait. You can't go out there." Jake sounded sincere, but I disregarded his concern.
"Watch me," I snapped.
"You know, being here with me means not being in La Push. With Sam."
I stopped in hearing those last two words.
"Fine," I said, turning around. "You win. But the second you start with your smart-ass comments, I walk."
He smirked. "Deal."
***
The next morning, I awoke without hesitation, only to be blinded by rays of sunlight pouring in through the cave opening. I tilted my head toward Jake, who was still asleep, and smiled. For once, I had no interest in biting his head off. It was a nice feeling, to say the least. I stretched my arms and quietly made my way outside. Once I got past the ridiculously cold temperature, it wasn't too bad. I tried phasing. After about a million and one attempts later, nothing. "Trouble phasing?" Jacob's voice rang.
"I don't know what's wrong with me. Everything I've tried has failed miserably."
He chuckled. "Let me help you."
We worked at it all afternoon until, finally, we gave up. It was hopeless.
"Thanks for trying, Jake," I mumbled.
"You sound disappointed."
"Why wouldn't I be? I still can't phase."
"Well, yeah, but at least I made it fun," he grinned.
"Oh, cocky, are we?"
"You know it's true."
"Do I?" I laughed.
I went from standing on the snowy ground, to staring at it in a split second. Jacob had lifted me up and slung me over his shoulder, snickering as I tried pounding on his back to coax him into putting me down. "Are you done now?" he asked, a hint of condescension in his voice.
I answered with a simple "Hmph" and he proceeded to carry me back into the cave.
It didn't take long for me to slip into unconsciousness.
Jake and I awoke not long after to the sound of approaching footsteps. Startled, Jacob launched himself in my direction. His body slammed into mine, crushing me against the ground. His face, his lips, were now only an inch from mine, and all I could think about was how I wanted them to be closer.