Chapter 1 –

Dear Diary,

It's been two months. We've been out of Los Angeles and in LaPush for two whole months. Sixty days of not looking over my shoulder when I walk, of not double checking the locks, or having to worry if my ex-best friend, the guy I loved like a brother and have known since I was a toddler, will make a comeback. It's nice to be myself again.

Jess couldn't be happier, he's loving all the attention he gets from girls at school, his grades rock, and his new bffs, Seth, Collin and Brady are the best he could ever find. Enough that I don't mind they're here 24/7, eating everything in sight. I went from having one little brother to having four, who would've thought…lol

The tribe elders have been very welcoming, a little overprotective, but I always knew they would be, a fifteen year old pubescent boy with a crazy sixteen year old girl as his guardian, could've gone either way. Sam and they guys are very sweet, constantly dropping by to check in. I gotta admit they're the reason I feel so safe around here. :D

I'll try to write more often, or at least if anything interesting happens, cross your fingers…lol

Ps. the infamous sixth has yet to surface. First he was too caught up with his bff, then heartbroken over losing her, and now, now he's a mess. I don't know if I'm curious, intrigued or annoyed.

Lily closed her laptop and headed for the shower, had a meeting with Jess's principal. She asked it to be before school, not too many kids around. Jess had no problem with her being there but she knew to most kids, having your sister, who's only 11 months older than you, as a legal guardian, is a little strange. Of course they also think it's incredibly cool, mostly because they believed or wanted to believe their house consisted of party after party. They couldn't be any more wrong. There was a reason a judge granted Lily emancipation at 16, and custody of her little brother Jess a month later. She was more than capable of watching over Jess. Hell she'd been doing it all his life.

Lily was teenager, but there was absolutely nothing ordinary about her. Parents divorced at 11, father gone and mother constantly m.i.a. at 12, found out she was a witch at 13, high school graduate at 15, inherited millions few weeks later, emancipated at 16, granted custody of her brother a month later, and at almost 17, putting herself through college while maintaining a stable, somewhat normal household for herself and her brother, yeah, ordinary would not be a word to describe her in anything.

Hiding the fact that she was a teenager was impossible, but she'd always tried to look a bit more mature when meeting with Jess's teachers, counselors, or anybody else with whom she had to prove her authoritive role to. She learned quick adults trusted her more if she resembled a Duggar and not a Spears, whoever this time was different. As a present for his 16th birthday, Lily gave Jess the Cadillac Escalade, the one he'd been drooling over for months, and to be honest, the one she'd bought for him but couldn't give until he was legal, which had been on Saturday. He was stoked, but it left her without a car until the mini arrived on Friday, meaning she had to walk back from Forks High, and no way she about to walk 15 miles in anything other than jeans and sneakers.

"You ready?" Jess yelled from the bottom of the stairs. Lily rolled her eyes with a smile, knowing his only hurry was to show off his new wheels. "Come on Lil!"

"I'm coming!" she yelled back. Lily knew Jess well enough to know he was pacing around the living room, playing with his keys, and would not think twice about running up and carrying her out if she took too long. She might be the older sister, but Jess has a good 4 inches on her, not to mention about 30lbs. She grabbed her ipod and hoodie on her way out the room "You're so impatient" she jokingly complained as she rapidly made her way down the stairs "You'd think you'd never driven the thing" she smiled as she all but pushed her out the door.

"Driving it once to the store doesn't count" Jess smiled.

Lily sat back and looked out the window as Jess drove to school, music blaring the entire way of course. It wasn't until they pulled into the school's parking lot that he lowered the volume. He had a smile from ear to ear, even though the entire school wasn't there to witness his grand entrance, but they would be there for his exit. That was the reason Lily refused to borrow the Escalade, he'd been dying to drive that car for months, she wasn't about to ruin his first official run, even if she had to walk 15 miles.

With only a few kids scattered around, Lily and Jess walked their way to the principal's office. Lily hated these meetings, they were usually never good. Jess opened the door and laughed lightly as she took a deep breath before walking in.

*****

The past 24 hours had been torture for Jake. Deep down he knew Bella was not gonna attend the tip-off party with Charlie, but he was hoping. A huge lump appeared in his throat when his father's best friend walked into the house alone. After almost smackdown between the pack and her beloved Cullen's, he was certain he knew the reason for her absence but his heart stopped the moment he heard the truth from Charlie. A weekend trip to Jacksonville. Jake feared he had seen his human best friend for the last time that his beloved would never be again. Three days was more than enough to turn someone.

Relieve washed over him as her was heard though the receiver, it sounded the same, but that was no safe bet. Even knowing Bella would be at school was not a guarantee that all was well, the bloodsucking Cullen's attended school, and they could easily teach her the tricks. The only way to be certain was to see her and that's just what he was doing. As he rode his dirt bike to Forks High he was certain one of two things was gonna happen, if Bella wasn't a bloodsucker he was gonna warn her leech about him and his family keeping their fangs on their side before they lose them, and if she was, the war was declared.

I parked the bike on the curve and waited for the stupid Volvo to appear, car that like its owner, always seemed so out of place next to the old, run down, hand-me-down cars in the school's lot. Well except for the tricked out black Escalade, suv that thanks to the pack, Jake knew belonged to the new neighbors. Jake had seen the brother a few times with Seth, but had yet to officially meet him, and the pack constantly went on and on about the sister but it's not like Jake had interest in meeting girls. The kids soon began to arrive, and between the live version of pimp my ride, and the enormous dangerous looking Indian kid, they were getting a show to remember. Funny, Jake thought, they had no clue the best was yet to come. And like on cue, the Volvo appeared.

A million different feelings washed over Jake at the same time, warmth at the sight of Bella's face, sorrow at the fearful, worried expression of her face, relief at the lovely sound of her heartbeat, anger at the sight of the bloodsucker, and above all, jealousy as they walked over hand in hand. The urge to rip his arms off reminded him of what a good idea it was to have witnesses. Besides their love for Bella, the leech and he shared two things, their short temper and unbearable urges to murder each other. The fury that filled Jake disappeared for a split second as he looked into Bella's brown eyes, she missed him as much as he missed her and it took everything in him not to run over and take her in his arms, at least for a quick hug but his anger overtook him again as the always possessive filthy bloodsucker kept a Bella several feet away and stood in front of her to hide her from view.

"You could've called us" Edward said, quickly loosing his fake, calm demeanor

"Sorry" Jake smirked. Us? Is he serious? "I don't have any leeches on my speed dial"

"You could have reached me at Bella's house, of course" Jake's body tensed as he tried to maintain calm. Ok, not killing him is gonna be a lot harder than expected. "This is hardly the place, Jacob. Could we discuss this later?"

Is this leech for real? Does he expected me to make an appointment, or maybe he wants us to meet at a cafe and discuss thing over a latte? "Sure, sure. I'll stop by your crypt after school" Jake snorted. Asshole! "What's wrong with now?"

It didn't surprise Jake that the bloodsucker had hidden all the events of Saturday night. Protecting her, my ass! If it was up to his overproctive ass, Bella would be kept in a bubble, hidden from the world and fed with lies he considered justified. Bella panicked as usual, fearful that Paul and the big leech had gone at it, though no way Jake could tell if she was fearful for Paul or the big vamp, probably the leech. Bella getting upset at the leech for keeping her in the dark felt pretty good, but the agony in his eyes as Jake played out Bella's behavior and appearance while he was gone, that was, well only one way to describe it, freaking awesome.

"What are you doing to him?" Bella demanded

"It's nothing; Bella" the leech lied "Jacob just has a good memory, that's all"

Knowing that for once the mind reading was giving him a good bite in the ass, Jake grinned.

"Stop it! Whatever you're doing" Bella further demanded

"Sure, if you want" Jake shrugged "It's his own fault if he doesn't like what I remember, though"

Jake looked around, they had gathered quite an audience. Everyone was waiting for the fight to break out. It would be such a shame to disappoint. Just as he thought of another hundred memories to torture the bloodsucker, Jake's attention was called elsewhere. The double doors to the main entrance opened and from them emerged the most beautiful creature Jake had ever seen. Could it be possible for your heart to speed up and slow down at the same time?

The incredible beauty was tall, nowhere near his 6'7, but for a girl, nearly 5'10 was tall. Her creamy, sun kissed skin was the color of a tropical beach's sand, her chocolate brown soft curls fell a little shy of her small waist, auburn and gold streaks shinning away in the little sun there was. She was wearing a black, long-sleeved t-shirt that clung onto her luscious breasts and flat belly, resting a few inches over the black jeans that hugged every one of her marvelous curves. As if he was calling her name, she looked up and directly at Jake, his black eyes meeting the glory of hers, big, almond shaped chocolate brown pools with swirls of honey and green, superbly framed with long curly eyelashes. Then with one simple action she changed his life forever.

Everything inside Jake became undone. All the lines that held him to his life were sliced away, everything that made him who he was, the love for Bella, the love for his father, the loyalty to his pack, the love for his brothers, his hatred for the bloodsuckers, his home, his name, himself disconnected in that second. New strings held him where he was. Not strings but millions of steel cables, all tying him to one thing, to the very center of the universe. He could see that now, how the universe swirled around one point. The gravity of the earth no longer tied him to the place he stood. It was this beautiful girl smiling at him.

His head spun for a millisecond before he realized what had just happened. He imprinted!

*****

The meeting went a lot better than Lily expected. School felt Jess should be tested for a possibility to skip 11th grade and begin his senior year in the fall. Jess loved the idea and she was ok with it, meeting over, right? Not! Even though it was obvious she was well informed of how the process took place, hellooo? I did skip 2 grades! , the principal felt it was necessary to go over every single detail. By the time it was over, the halls were filled with teenagers.

"Hi Jess" came from behind them in a very overenthusiastic voice. Lily kept walking as Jess stopped and turned around. "Principal's office already? School hasn't even began" she laughed

"Nah" Jess answered "Sis had a meeting" he added as he grabbed Lily's shoulders and turned her around.

Lily smiled expecting a 'hi' but the short girl stared with wide eyes. Confused, Lily turned to her brother before returning her eyes to the girls.

"I'm sorry" the girl smiled "But you are really pretty"

"Thanks" Lily smiled awkwardly

"Are you model?" the girl beamed at the idea "Because girls as pretty and tall as you usually are"

"Ok" Jess interrupted, coming to Lily's rescue "Lil, this craziness" he smiled, placing his hands on the girl's shoulders "is called Jessica"

"Hi Jessica, I'm Lily"

"You even have a model name" she complained "I am so glad you don't come to this school" she whispered. Jess and Lily's chuckles informed her she has spoken out loud, causing her cheeks to blossom. "We should head outside" she said, changing the subject "Cullen and some big Indian kid from the res are about to have a boxing match"

Lily and Jess shared a worried look. There were plenty of big kids in LaPush, all very good friends of theirs. No doubt that each one of them could look quite intimidating and menacing to those that didn't know them, but none were the kind to get into fights, except Paul.

"Edward?" Jess asked "Really?"

"Probably over Bella" Jessica rolled her eyes "But still fun to watch, come on"

If it was over Bella Swan, they knew well who the big Indian kid was. Even though they had yet to meet Jacob Black, they knew the story well. Jess and Lily followed Jessica out the front door. The crowd outside was definite proof that something was about to go down, or at least everyone was hoping it did. At the curve near the school's parking lot exit, was a tall, pale guy with golden eyes and bronze messy hair, cute, but overprotective as he obviously shielded a short, pale, thin girl with brown wavy hair, same color as her eyes. She was also cute, but Lily couldn't see what the fuzz was about. So that's Edward and Bella. They were having a serious and heated conversation with a gorgeous hunk.

The tattoo in his right bicep proved it was Jacob, and Jacob was incredibly hot. He was tall just like they all were, but Jake was surely taller than Sam at about 6'7. Thanks to the light drizzle, his black hair was wet and spiky, he had smooth, russet skin, cute little nose, pouty lips that looked totally kissable, and body of Adonis that was visible through the thin material of his black t-shirt that looked painted on. Leaning against his black motorcycle, in greasy pants and dirty boots made him look dangerous, yet utterly irresistible. And to Lily's luck, the irresistible hottie was looking directly at her. His eyes locked with hers, eyes as black as night, intense yet warm and caring. He might want to appear hard and menacing but his eyes gave him away. Lily smiled; he stood motionless for a minute, his eye never leaving hers, then, the sun turned on. Lily felt warm all over as a smile crossed his face, not just any smile, the most bright, breathtakingly perfect smile imaginable.

Lily tried to keep her cool, but you can't do a very good job of it when your heart is pounding away and your muscles feel like jello.

"Earth to Jacob!" Bella said snapping her fingers in front of Jacob's face.

Jacob didn't seem to notice anything, but the action brought Lily out of her daze, enough for her to notice everyone was looking back and forth between Jacob and her. Edward looked at Jacob with amazement as he whispered to Bella.

"He just imprinted" he smiled "He doesn't see anyone but her right now"

"Imprinted?" Bella exclaimed. Lily, yet silent, had the same reaction.

Something big had just happened, that was obvious. The look in Edward's face made it perfectly clear to Lily that he was reading Jacob's mind and desperately trying to read Lily's as well, something that bothered her very much. It's not nice to try to read someone's thoughts. Edward's eyes almost bugged out as he obviously heard that, only because she wanted him to. Lily turned to lock eyes with Jake, not necessary for casting spells, but until Lily knew how to use her powers properly, she felt it helped. Private thoughts closed out mind, let intruders nothing find. Edward's head snap in Jacob's direction was the proof that the spell worked. In amazement, Edward turned to Lily, cocking a brow with a crocked smile, in a silent 'you did that?' Lily's wide smile was her silent 'hell yeah'.

Chapter 2 –

Jessica's phone beeped at the same time Edward looked up as if someone was calling him.

"Quick, let's go" Jessica warned "Mike just texted me that Mr. Greene is on his way" So that' what Edward picked up on.

"Go" Lily said to Jess "I'll see you later"

"You sure you don't wanna take the Escalade?" he asked, not convinced he should allow her to walk home alone, but both knew deep down he was counting the hours till school was over and he could ride out in style.

"I can give her a ride home" said a deep, husky voice. Lily didn't have to turn around to know it came from Jacob. The mere sound of his voice was enough to get her heart into overtime, she was afraid if she turned around her knees would turn to jello again, but the temptation to see that face of his up close was too strong. Of course she didn't realize just how close he was and nearly kissed his chest when she turned to face him. Keep cool, Lily! She had to tilt her head up to see his face but it was definitely worth it. "We're going the same way so I can take you" he smiled, that smile was worth all the strained necks in the world. "If you want" Lily couldn't think of what to say as she stood, staring like a dork, something he probably misunderstood as mistrust "I'm Jacob by the way" he said taking her hand in his. He was extremely hot, literally, like bake cookies in your hands, hot. "You can call me Jake" he added with that smile of his.

"Jess" her brother answered with a slight nod "We've heard a lot about you"

"Yeah" Jake chuckled "Heard they've practically moved in"

"I'm Lily" she finally managed to get out, talk about late reactions "And I would appreciate the ride" she smiled with a little nod, doing her best to appear calm and composed. Good thing he was not the mind reader "You'll save me from a very long walk"

"Well, problem solved" Jess stated, tying to hide his 'uh huh' look, "Remember I'm going to Port Angeles afterschool" Jess reminded as he walked away "Seth, Collin and Brady are coming with"

"Keep your phone on" Lily yelled as Jess walked away giving her a little wave that meant 'yeah, yeah'

"Ready to go?" God his voice is just as sexy as the rest of him!

"Yeah, let me just grab my sweatshirt" she answered, but he just took her hand and towed he to the bike.

"Trust me" he smiled, cocking a brow "As long as you hold on tight to me, you'll be nice and toasty"

Lily didn't doubt it for a second, if his hands could bake cookies, the rest of him could only be hotter. And holding on tight to him? You didn't need to ask her twice. Jake walked without the slightest care that Edward and Bella hadn't moved an inch and were still waiting for him by the bike. Even though they had chosen to air their dirty laundry in public, their discussion was private, and Lily had every intention of keeping her nose out of it. She stopped walking a few feet away; pulling Jake back a little with her resistance, causing him to turn to her with confusion, in explanation, Lily looked over at who was awaiting him.

"Don't you have a conversation you need to finish?"

Jake shook his head and continued; obviously meaning nothing more than a light tug, but he nearly picked her off the floor. "That conversation's over" he chuckled "Now more than ever" Something about the Edward and Bella's facial expressions told Lily that maybe that conversation was over, but there was definitely another one about to start. "Seriously, nothing to worry about" he smiled.

For someone that had been described as heartbroken and impossible to deal with, Jake sure smiled a lot. Or maybe he somehow knew the effect it had on her, with looks like his, that kind of smile should've been considered a lethal weapon. It was ironic, she was the witch, yet it was him putting her under a spell with those pearly whites of his. Lily had never felt like that over any guy, not once. There was an instant connection between them that she couldn't deny, and quite frankly didn't want to. From the way Bella and Edward shifted their eyes back and forth between them, Lily could tell they had felt that connection too.

"Hi" Bella smiled at Lily as she stepped from behind Edward "I'm Bella, Jake's best friend" she added, giving Jake a little smile.

"I'm Lily, Jess's sister and Jake's neighbor" Lily answered from behind Jake.

For two guys that hated each other, they had a lot in common, like their overprotective instincts. Bella and Lily were practically hidden behind them until they pushed them aside to give each other a quick hug.

"You're like, really tall" Bella noted as she looked up at Lily "You fit right in LaPush" she smiled as she glanced over at Jake.

"Yeah, first time I ever felt short" Lily laughed as she looked up at Jake who had moved to tower over her "I kinda like it"

"Your eyes" Edward stated "They are quite unique"

"You should talk" Jake growled

Bella shot Jake a 'come on' look as she stated "He means they're very pretty" she softened her face and tone as she turned to Lily and added "Just like the rest of you"

"Uh huh" Jake smiled causing Bella to giggle and Lily to blush.

Bella glanced over at Edward from the corner of her eye before running to give Jake a hug. "I miss you, Jake" she whispered "I'm sorry for saying it, but I really do"

"I do too, Bells" Jake answered as he picked her up in bear hug.

"Whoa!" Bella smiled as Jake placed her down "This was very unexpected"

"You're telling me" Jake laughed

"Quite fascinating" Edward half-smiled as Bella went back to his arms

"Didn't plan on giving you a ring-side seat" Jake complained "But don't really care anymore"

"Too bad I was only able to hear half of it" Edward added as he looked at Lily.

Everyone seemed to be talking in code and it was extremely frustrating, yet informative. All of them had secrets to hide. As they looked at each other, it was quite obvious they were all different, not just different from each other, but different from everyone else. There was no doubt they were all part of a grey world, grey world only those in it understood and knew about. Lily looked away while trying to hold in a smile, like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar, Bella couldn't have been more confused as she looked at Edward, wanting answers, but Jake didn't seem to notice or care.

It was very entertaining to see Jake spoke with his eyebrows as much as he did with words, or by the looks of things, thoughts. It was also entertaining to see the Edward's eyes bug out everytime something unexpected happened. Boys! Spells were the TV dinners of witchcraft, real witches, especially powerful ones, willed things. Spells were usually a quick or temporary fix when there was no time to concentrate and channel energy. Lily wasn't sure exactly how long the spell would keep Edward out of Jake's mind, what she did know was that for the time being, he could only hear the thoughts Jake wanted him to hear, and by the way Edward couldn't keep his nonchalant composure, Jake's thoughts were coming and going.

"Mr. Greene is coming back" Edward announced "We need to go now, but there is a lot we need to talk about" Edward added "Bella will get in touch with you, Jacob"


"Sure, sure" Jacob answered as he mounted the bike, holding out his hand to help Lily on. She hopped on the bike and as instructed, and as she had been dying to do, she wrapped her arms around Jake.

"You know we need to talk, Jake" Bella called out

"I know" he answered "I'll call you" he smiled "Have a feeling I won't be leaving LaPush much"

"I kinda figured that" Bella smiled as she glanced over at Lily. "Nice meeting you"

"Same here" Lily answered

"Bye, Bells" Jake said as he turned the engine on.

"Goodbye, Jacob" Edward stated, holding in a smile.

Lily hugged Jake tightly, knowing what was about to happen, Jake not answering and speeding off. No matter how cool she tried to be, she couldn't help the squeal that erupted from her. The combination of speed, adrenaline and extreme closeness to a total hottie was more than enough to make her scream in excitement. Fortunately, Jake seemed to like her enthusiasm, laughing and smiling right along with her.

*****

Jake couldn't believe how fast things changed. He was miserable and angry on his way to Forks; on his way back to LaPush however, cloud nine. Of course who wouldn't be with their gorgeous imprintee's arms tightly wrapped around them? He loved it so much; he was giving serious thought about taking a little detour, maybe through Seattle. Maybe she wouldn't mind, her laughter and excitement were proof she was having a good time too. About halfway through the ride, Lily got comfortable, resting her head on his shoulder blade as her body relaxed. The motion filled Jake with warmth inside, and for someone who constantly ran around with a temp of 108, it said a lot. Unfortunately, the ride was over way too fast for his liking.

Jake pulled up to her driveway, knowing well which her house was, farmhouse across from the Clearwater's. He might've been too out of it to be a part of the gatherings, but he'd heard and seen plenty from the pack. What the failed to mention was how much the house had been changed. With the remodeling and upgrades, the freshly painted house looked nothing like its old farmhouse self.

"Thanks a lot" she stated as she got off the bike. Jake's body somehow felt cold without her touch. "Maybe I can repay you with some breakfast?" she smiled "If you want, no pressure" she added "I don't know if you're busy or anything. And if you don't want to, is cool too"

"I'd love breakfast" Jake stated as a huge smile crossed his face. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the rest of our lives would be perfect too.

"Great! Cause I've been dying from some waffles" she beamed "Jess's never eats breakfast, and it makes no sense to go through all the trouble for myself" she smirked

"Well, I eat enough for three" he smiled as he dismounted the bike and settled it against a tree.

"I know, practically moved in, remember?" she laughed as she looked over at Seth's house. "I've gotten used to cooking for a full house" she added as she took Jake's hand, towing him in the front door. "I'll give you a tour of the downstairs first, after breakfast we'll do the upstairs"

"Ok" Jake smiled as he took in the inside, looked like something right out of cribs. Floors covered, wall to wall of extremely thick and black carpet. Three of the biggest, black plush couches he'd ever seen had throw pillows that matched the curtains, black, beige and sky blue plaid. The modern coffee table and end tables were black, beige lamps, and blue and beige scented candles on the coffee table, remote controls on either side of them. It was easy to tell what the remotes were for, the massive stereo system, surround sound speakers mounted on the corners and the enormous 150 inch plasma TV, which the large living room centered on, and stood where the fireplace use to be. "Wow" Jake sighed in admiration.

"Jess's baby" Lily chuckled "At least it was before the Escalade"

"Now I know why the guys wanna be here all the time" Jake smiled

"They spend hours watching movies and playing video games" she stated as she towed him to the dining room, which had the same curtains as the living room and as far as he could tell, the rest of the downstairs. Dining room was something else; several blue and beige stained glass wall lamps surrounded the table. Black wood, glass top table with 12 beige and sky blue settings and a large bouquet of white and blue lilies in the middle. "Can you possibly guess what Jess's favorite colors are?" she jokedwith mocked suspensewhich caused Jake to laugh.

"Jess decorated the house?" Jake asked in surprise, he knew decorating was usually a girl's thing.

"It's his house" she shrugged "I just gave it some girly touches. Besides, I taught him well, so he has good taste" she laughed. "Just a little more extravagant than mine" Jake grew serious for a moment. What if Lily didn't want to be with him? She was obviously used to a lifestyle that he could never give her. As if she'd read his mind she stated "Unlike the people we grew up with, material things don't matter to me" she turned to face Jake "One of the reason we're here is because we were fed up with phony, stuck up people, hung up on appearances and under the impression that friendship, loyalty, affection, love and respect can be bought" she rolled her eyes "The most valuable thing in life, is a good heart, and you couldn't buy that with all the money in the world, right?"

"Nope"

"Now I'm really starving" Lily whined, dramatically rubbing her flat belly "Let's get breakfast stated before I pass out"

"Oh no, we can't have that" he joked, causing her to giggle as they walked into the kitchen. Needless to say the kitchen was just as tricked out as the rest of the house, same black, beige and sky blue scheme, of course

Lily sat him on one of the granite island's stool and with a click of a small remote that sat there, Cassie's 'Me & U' began to play. Jake sat back and enjoyed the view as she sang and danced her way around the kitchen, getting everything she needed. She sat all the mixing bowl and ingredients on the counter before turning the music down to just background setting and sitting across from Jake.

"I mix; you put things in, ok?"

"Ok" he smiled. Lily had the most carefree, outgoing personality, very contagious. They'd only know each other for a couple of hours and she was as comfortable with him as if they'd known each other forever. Maybe the imprinting thing works both ways?

They worked well together, easily and quickly getting the waffles done. Joking around and laughing the entire time. As they ate they shared childhood stories, he talked about growing up in LaPush, she about LA, he talked about his best friends, Quil, who she called socially challenged because there was not much filtered between what he thought and what he said, and Embry, who she called a sweetheart. He would've been jealous by that comment if she hadn't said how much she cared for them and stated she'd grown to see the pack as family. She even smacked his arm when he suggested Sam kick Seth, Collin and Brady out if they got on her nerves too much. She claimed she had 4 little brothers that she loved very much, even if they were eating her out of a home. They continued talking as he washed the dishes and she dried. He talked about his older sisters, Rebecca who was married in Hawaii, and Rachel, the nerd who was off at college. She talked about her parent's divorce, her missing father and peek-a-boo mom, watching over Jess and how close they were. She was proud to have him as a brother but blessed to have him as a best friend. She teased him about his problems with school, not knowing the real reason he was struggling was because he was too exhausted to concentrate after running all night hunting vampires. She talked about skipping 8th grade and 11th and complained how hard her 1st year of college was to her. He got smacked after jokingly calling her a nerd, claiming he shouldn't tease those who could help him graduate high school. Was she offering? I seriously need a Girls 101 class.

"Do you miss LA?" he asked as she finished drying the last plate.

"A little" she admitted "I miss my cousin and our infamous girl's nights out" she smiled "I have too much testosterone around. Not that I mind the view" she smiled, checking him out before cocking a brow, making her look sexy as hell and was she flirting with him?

"Any broken hearts left behind?"

Lily face grew serious "Just one" she answered in a whisper as her eyes pooled with tears causing Jake to be flooded with multiple feelings. He felt the need to comfort her, curiosity as if she was heartbroken as well, fear that she might be, jealousy over that possibility, anger that someone was hurting her, and the urge to find and murder him for that. He wanted to know everything, no, he needed to know, but by the tears beginning to escape her glorious eyes, she wasn't able to talk about it yet.

"We don't' have to talk about it" he assured her as he gently wiped with his thumb the tear that rolled down her cheek. She silently thanked him with a slight nod and a little smile. He grabbed the plates and she pointed the cupboard to his left and she grabbed the waffle iron.

She opened the pantry's door and tiptoed, trying to reach high enough to place the iron on the top shelf. Jake took that queue to help her out and at the same time, get close to her. He placed his hands on her waist and picked her up, causing her to laugh out loud as she reached with ease thanks to him, and continued to laugh as he placed her down. He smiled and she turned around, shaking her head. During the reaching process, Lily's shirt had gone up, leaving her with mid-belly bare, but instead of enjoying the view, Jake began to tremble with rage. Lily's stomach was covered in black and blue, black and blue hand-shaped bruises. Jake's urge to hunt and murder was far more than that, it'd become a necessity and a guarantee.

13