A Strange Imprint
Chapter 2
Words: 1 644
Jacob was blown out of his mind. The wolf wasn't a wolf; no more than he himself was anyway. The wolf was like them and that was not the end of things. Jacob had never before thought of another male in a sexual way, but this man, Harry, his imprint, was gorgeous.
He was tall enough that he wouldn't be dwarfed by any of them, something which was amazing all in of itself.
Unlike them he had phased from his wolf form completely dressed, however that was possible was anyone's guess, and Jacob promised himself to find out that later, it would be so convenient if he could learn to do that, no more ripped trousers or torn shoes.
Nevertheless the thin layer of fabric coating Harry's body couldn't hide the lean muscles of his chest and legs. He was toned and built like the best of them, hard lines and broad shoulders. Harry had lightly tanned skin with a healthy glow even in the shade from the forest canopy and his green eyes sparkled.
"Thank you," he said, his voice was even and slightly husky, the words were delivered with an unmistakable British accent, which Jacob just thought was perfect. "I think it might take me some time to get used to the idea, though I'm looking forward to getting to know you." He looked in Jacob's direction, meeting the eye of the large russet coloured wolf, smiling brightly and Jacob was honest to god swooning. Man was he gonna get ribbed later.
The apparently British man turned back to Sam. "Still, I came here looking for answers. A friend of a friend had heard stories about your tribe and I had to see if they were true. Turning into a wolf the way I do is not normal where I come from and the wolves of the Quileute legends were the ones closest resembling what I am. I had no hope of actually running into any shifters though, I had only thought to hear more legends, trying to puzzle out the truth from them. I suppose I got lucky." He cast another glance at Jacob, and it might have been the Quileute's imagination, but that might have been innuendo. He wouldn't mind it one bit if it were.
Jacob was sure he was going to be mortally embarrassed later, but at the moment he couldn't care what the others thought of him as his internal monologue was basically about how hot he thought this guy was, how perfect every word coming out of his mouth was and how lucky he was.
"We'll tell you everything and we would all like to know about you as well, we didn't know there were any others like us out there." Sam said remaining at ease though he was talking to a stranger naked as the day he was born. Sure, Sam would probably win a fight - not that it would come to that as it was against pack-law to hurt or kill an imprint - but the guy had a bit too much confidence.
"Yeah, I can see that, but it's a long story." Harry seemed a bit uneasy as he said that, running a hand through his dark hair, leaving it messier than it already was, which was saying something, Jacob noted. His hair was messy in a way that made him think of cliff diving on a windy day or - more pleasurable activities.
"We've got time," Sam pressed on and Jacob could almost feel the dark tone Harry's thoughts tok on at the insistence and instinct made him growl at his alpha.
Harry turned to him and smiled, mouthing thanks. Then he turned back to Sam. "We'll see," he said in a final tone, it brokered no argument and Sam nodded reluctantly.
The exchange made Jacob's heart soar. Harry, his Harry, had welcomed his protection, had thanked him, but he was still able to hold his own. It was so amazing. And hot. Then he thought about it, and he was bothered that Harry was unwilling to speak about his past. He wondered if it would be the same way between the two of them. Jacob wished to know everything about Harry. In the end he would do what was best for Harry though. If that meant not talking about it that was what they were going to do. The problem was figuring out what was best, and there was a difference between best now and best in the long run. The thought of having to hurt his imprint now to help him later agitated him.
For a brief moment he had seen a lot of pain in those incredibly green eyes, and he swore to do anything so that he would never see it there again. He wanted his imprint to be happy; he needed him to be happy.
Paul finally got tired of hearing his love struck thoughts and snapped. "C'mon, dude! So you imprinted. Big deal. Now go ahead and phase so that we don't have to hear about how hot a guy's ass is. You're gonna make me sick!"
Jacob snapped his jaws close to Paul's head and they would have begun fighting had not both Harry and Sam yelled at them to knock it off.
"Paul, Quil you're back on patrol. Jared, you'll join them. I'll be heading back to call a council meeting. Jacob, take care of Harry." Sam phased and the large black wolf took off. The others followed soon after, leaving only Jacob the wolf and Harry the human.
Though they stood there looking at each other for a long time it never got awkward.
"Don't you think we should talk?" Harry eventually asked, and when fixed with those large, green eyes Jacob was defenceless, Harry could have asked him for the world and he would have tried his best to provide it, still he retained some of his cognitive functions, mostly because he kept hearing Paul's and Jared's snickering in his mind.
He made it clear that he wanted Harry to follow him, and in the next moment two wolves were running side by side towards the coast. For some reason the beach had become the place for important and idle conversation in Jacob's mind and after imprinting the place would no longer be tainted by the angst Bella had contributed, it had reverted back to a place of good childhood memories and dramatic nature, he wanted to share that with Harry, as he wanted to share every part of his life with this other man.
They arrived at the shore, where rough waves were rolling in, but it was a nice day as it wasn't raining, though the overcast sky promised to change that given a little time. Jacob phased back while they still were in the cover of the forest, wanting to preserve his dignity somewhat. He quickly put on the pair of jeans he kept tied to his leg, blanching at the thought of being naked the first time he stood face to face with Harry. That could come later. Hopefully.
When Jacob emerged from the trees Harry was already standing there, waiting for him. They stood silent for a moment, just looking at each other. Jacob couldn't decide whether he should be flattered or embarrassed by the appraising look he was on the receiving end of. He settled for something in between and took the time to stare some more at the handsome man he had imprinted on. Black, messy hair. Greener than grass, almond shaped eyes. Straight nose, square jaw. Broad shoulders, tall, muscular. What wasn't there to like?
"We never really introduced ourselves." The British man said in a loud voice to overpower the roaring of the waves.
"I suppose not." Jacob shrugged. Then he took the first step and held out his hand. "Hello. I'm Jacob Black, but you can call me Jake. It's nice to meet you." Harry accepted his hand. The green eyed man's hand was large, warm and calloused, much like his own.
"Hey, Jake. It's nice to meet you too. I'm Harry Potter." They smiled dumbly at each other and did not let go of each others hands. There was no need to.
Jacob realized what they were doing and coughed as he felt heat rise in his cheeks. "Ehum, shall we sit down?" He gestured with his free hand to one of the driftwood trees.
"Sure."
They sat down, barely an inch apart on the damp log.
"Do you understand what imprinting means?"
"Sam said that it's a soul-mate bond."
They turned slightly so that they were face to face.
"Yes. Though it's not that easy. We can imprint after we phase into our wolf-form the first time. When it happens that person becomes the most important thing in the world to you. You will do anything for that person, be anything for them."
"I see." Harry nodded sagely, looking intently at Jacob. "It's like this; it's no longer gravity keeping you here, it's them. Your heart soars and you feel this incredible warmth in your chest."
"Exactly like that. How could you...?"
"Because, Jake, I think I imprinted on you as well."
"Oh…"
Without Jacob noticing it, Harry had placed a hand on his bare shoulder. As they gazed into each others eyes, just breathing, that hand travelled so that it rested on the Quileute's cheek.
"I'm not ready for this," Harry mumbled, "I'm not ready for a relationship. I just wanted answers for what I had become."
"That's okay," whispered Jacob. On one hand he knew that he would wait forever; on the other he was disappointed. "We can take it slow."
"I'd like that, though before anything else…"
"Hmm?"
Then Jacob felt warm lips pressing against his own, and the rest of the world ceased to exist.
End Chapter 2
AN 23rd February 2013 (14th October 2013):
That was that. I hope you enjoyed it, even though it was mostly fluff. Fluff can be nice as well in my opinion. There should be at least one more chapter, though I can't say when it will show up.
When I edited this for this upload I realized how much this story reeks of teenage-fangirlism (I made up the word, deal with it), but I am telling myself that not everything I write have to be utterly serious, light-hearted things are nice too…
