Chapter III.
In which Amelia is scared and Jacob and Embry hear a ruckus.
Amelia's POV
I woke with a sense of anxiousness. What is it with me lately? Geeze, maybe I do need a shrink. I shook my head, and curled back up, hoping for more sleep. After a while, I decided I might as well get up. It seemed I wasn't going to get anymore sleep anyway. Fine, I thought angrily, be that way. Great now I'm talking to none existing entities in my head. I just might need a shrink. I think Harper was wrong about the change in scenery thing. I seem to be getting worse by the minute, maybe she read it wrong. Maybe changes in scenery were bad for you.
I ate some cereal, and went out side to see if there was anything to do. Harper was already out there, she was always up before me. She was looking at a tree with interest, leaning in real close to it. Ok, maybe she's the one who's lost it.
"What are you looking at?" I asked approaching her.
"Come and see." She said stepping back.
"Alright." I said shrugging, like I had anything better to do. I looked at the spot she had seemed so interested in. On the tree, was a huge black, spider. I screeched at the top of my lungs, and jumped back away from the tree.
"Ew ew ew ew ew ew! I hare spiders." I whimpered. "Kill it!" Harper just burst out laughing.
"You should have seen the look on your face! It was priceless."
Jacob's POV
Come on Embry, you know you're hungry; I can feel that you are. You're tired and you want to stop. Just stop running and you can eat and sleep. I hedged, trying to get Embry to give up already. Actually I was tired and hungry too. I was so hungry I could eat a cow. I really hoped he gave up soon so I could get some food.
Yes I am. But so are you. Why don't you give up, and then you can get some food and sleep. Hmmm?
Embry, just give u- I stopped in mid thought as a scream sounded through the trees. Without thinking I changed direction, heading toward where the scream had come from. Going as fast as I could. I didn't know who or what screamed, and I didn't know why, but that didn't make any difference to me. All I knew was that I had to protect that person from any kind of harm. Ever. Something in that sound had called to me. I sped up to reach however it was.
JAKE! Wait for me! Come on man, you don't know what that was about, for all you know it was just some girl who saw a big spider. Think about it Jake! You can't just run up to some stranger, you'll terrify them! Come on Jake Think logical-
Another sound met my ears, laughter. Someone found something real funny apparently. But the sound caused Embry's mind to go blank. He too wanted to find the source of the sounds now, faced with the same illogical urge to find whoever it was making these sounds. I just pushed harder, went faster, forgetting I was tired and hungry, what was important now was reaching this person, these people.
Beautiful. I've never heard a sound that magical before. Embry thought. Well ok, if he thought so. That's nice, I was worried about whoever it was that screamed though. He could go tell jokes with the laughing person all he wants; I needed to protect that person from whatever it was that scared them. Embry fell behind slightly; his happy musings seemed to cause him to space out.
Chapter IV
In which Amelia and Harper get a surprise visit, and Jacob and Embry discover something wonderful.
Jacob's POV
I reached a slight clearing and stopped dead. There was a camp site set up. A huge camper, bigger than any camper I've ever seen, was at the opposite end from me. A picnic table sat a few yards away from it. And there were two women. One of them was a brunette, but I barley noticed her. Standing a few feet away from the brunette, with an expression that was gradually changing from irritated to awed, was an angel. She had long dark blonde hair, that fell in waves down her back. She had a long, round face, with pale skin and rosy cheeks. She had the most delicious lips I've ever seen, full and red, slightly parted in a startled expression. Her prominent eyes, were shifting from grey to blue as I watched. My eyes traveled down from her face to her body, I am a guy after all. She had a well formed chest, with large full breasts, covered by a tee shirt. I wretched my eyes away, continuing their path downward. I noticed how her hips flared slightly, and the curves of her legs. I let my eyes wander back up, pausing to look once more at how her chest rose and fell rapidly, with her breathing, and back up to her stunned face. As I looked into her big, now bright blue eyes, I felt a sensation I thought I'd never experience. Not after Bella left. I was imprinting. Oh lord, help me…….
Embry's POV
YES! You stopped! I won! Now what sucker? Hmmm… that's weird Jake normally would have responded to that, what's he-
Oh. I came into a clearing that was currently set as a camp site. I stopped next to where Jake was staring at a woman. I looked around, and saw another woman. She was gorgeous. She looked to be middle eastern, or something. She had long black hair, and beautifully tan skin. Her dark eyes looked shocked, probably due to the appearance of two giant wolves. She was tall, close to 6 foot, and slender, but still had those wonderfully feminine curves. She had a heart shaped face, and wide brown eyes. Her neck was long and elegant looking, and led on to feminine shoulders, and modest breasts. (A/N: yes I know they are both looking at their chests, but they're GUYS what do you expect? Men like to look at boobs, deal with it; it's a fact of life. If you want we can have one of them wear one of those, "My eyes are up there" shirts, lol.) My eyes traveled down her flat stomach to her mile long legs. She was absolutely breath taking. I understood immediately the feeling that coursed through me; it was one I recognized from the memories of other pack members. I was imprinting, Wow. I've always wanted to feel this way. It's finally happening, I can't believe it. This is- wow.
Harper's POV
Holy. Shit. We're going to be eaten by giant wolves. At least they're pretty wolves. That grey one is absolutely gorgeous. That doesn't really make getting eaten worth it though. My thoughts were halted when I met the eyes of the beautiful, salt and pepper, wolf before me. Its eyes were so, so human. As I made eye contact with the massive wolf, I felt a sort of magnetism, I felt drawn to him. That's stupid Harper it's a dangerous wild animal, look at those teeth! I thought to myself, yet I couldn't deny the sense of safety that seemed to come from the wolf. Maybe it's was because he was so big, that well, no guard dog could ever compare, but it also seemed like something else. Great. I'm beginning to sound like Mia, and her "feelings" and knowing without any reason. I always knew she'd be the death of me. I sighed, there was nothing I could do. Either I was going to be eaten by this giant wolf, and its companion, or I was not. I couldn't decide which one it was going to be. Logic told me that the first option, being eaten, is most likely, considering an animal that size was bound to have a huge appetite. But I couldn't bring myself to fear, for somewhere in me had decided without my knowing that this wolf was a protector, not a killer, that those human eyes, hinted at a docile, tame manner. Gods! I'm sounding more and more like Mia with each passing second.
"Mia," I called to her quietly, she seemed to be in a staring contest with the bigger russet wolf. "What are the odds that we're going to be eaten?"
"None. Humans don't taste good. Too much iron in our blood, not very appetizing to most creatures." She answered me methodically. She seemed determined to win the staring contest with the wolf, because she did not look at me as she spoke.
The russet wolf gave a short bark, it sounded almost like a laugh, at some inside wolf joke. My grey wolf bared his teeth, though the expression was not threatening, it looked like a smile, although his eyes seemed to get a little darker. This is ridiculous, wolves can't laugh and they can't smile. I should be terrified right now. I don't care if I taste good or not, besides, he'd have to taste me to figure that out. I was sure no good could come of those dagger-like teeth taking off a bite of me. None at all. Clearly, Mia's brain is so scared it's shut off her fear inhibitors as a way to protect itself. I'm going to have to be the reasonable and get us out of this, somehow. I have never felt the need to learn defensive skills to be used against giant wolves, not that that is really a commonly found defense class anyway. I had no idea what I was going to do, but I had to think and think fast. Think Think, Think, Think!
I tried not to feel, I knew that no good could come from letting my emotions have me. There would either be too much fear to function or that unreasonable need to, well I don't know what it was exactly, but I knew it wasn't smart. It was never wise to do what your emotions told you to do, never wise to think with your heart and not your brain. I had learned that in my work. I've read countless psyche cases, and I've even see a few patients myself, though I was not fully qualified yet, it was part of our learning experience, I had seen what happened to people who let their emotions rule them. I was not a cold robot, I feel. I still have emotions, but I don't let them effect me as much as other people do. Mia, she lived by her emotions. She hated letting people know how she felt, she kept her emotions secret always, but she lived by them, what her heart told her instead of her head. As long as I've known her, even I couldn't tell what she was feeling, her thoughts, her opinions, you don't get a choice, she makes them known, but her feelings, she does all she can to keep them a secret. I used to be able to tell what she was feeling. She could always tell with me, always, and still can, but as I learned how to read other people I lost the ability to read my best friend. It wasn't too bad though, I knew she preferred it that way.
I shook my head, wow, I had gotten off track! Here I am faced with two gigantic wolves and I go off on a mental tangent. Back to the matter at hand, avoid being chomped. I wondered why the wolves where still not doing anything. Shouldn't they have attacked by now?
I looked to see that Mia and the Russet wolf were no longer having a staring contest. The Russet wolf and the Grey wolf were now looking at each other intently, as if deciding their next move. I knew I had to think fast, but nothing prepared me for what they did next.
Amelia's POV
Those eyes. I couldn't look away. I had been seeing them over and over in my dreams of late. They were so familiar, I knew, them, yet I had not known who they belonged to. A wolf, I should have known I wasn't seeing prince charming. I really thought I had been. Harper would say I let my heart think instead of my brain, she said hearts were not meant for thinking, and when they do, it causes problems. I couldn't live by that policy the way she seemed to, I felt everything; it was hard not to let my emotions rule. I had let them get carried away, let my dreaming and fantasizing build up this idea, that when I'd finally see these eyes in person, I'd be looking up at an attractive, sweet, funny, fun, loving, generous, smart, tall, helpful, talented, well anyway, man, my fate. Well I was right about that part, I had met my fate, I was hoping said fate would mean the beginning of a new chapter in life, not the end of it. Funny, this doesn't feel like the end. Those eyes are so expressive, they seemed human, it was no wonder I had confused them for being so, they held no hostility, they seemed to hold wonder. I suppose the wolf isn't used to humans, I'm probably very odd looking to it. I'm sure my face reflected his awe, the wolf was beautiful. He was big, huge, and muscled. He had long dagger-like teeth and was a beautiful russet color, his fur was shaggy, and looked amazingly soft. I wanted to touch it. To see what it felt like, warm and soft I'd imagine. I wasn't so foolish as to do this though, as much of a ditz as I may seem at times, I was not an idiot. I knew better than to approach a wild animal. But I bet he's really cuddly. I sighed, this was ridiculous.
"Mia, what are the odds we're going to be eaten?" Harper asked from somewhere on my left. I couldn't bring myself to look away from the russet wolf, away from his eyes, to look at her when I answered.
"None. Humans don't taste good. Too much iron in our blood, not very appetizing to most creatures." I answered.
The Wolves seemed to find this comment amusing. The Russet one barked a laugh-like sound and I saw the grey one grin a wolfy grin. I shook my head, wolves didn't understand English, and they didn't laugh, did they? Well I guess they could, there's nothing proving they can't, but they've never shown that they could. Maybe being so huge gives them bigger brain capacities making these wolves more inelegant than regular ones. That's possible. Maybe. But that's not exactly the point.
The wolves looked at each other. They seemed to be communicating, figuring out what they're going to do. I was not prepared for what happened next.
Chapter V.
In which everyone is surprised.
Embry's POV
"Mia, what are the odds we're going to be eaten?" the beautiful creature before me asked the other woman. I felt bad now. She thought I was going to eat her? She's probably terrified, great that just what I need, I finally imprint and she's scared of me. Not that I could blame her, we wolves were pretty intimidating. I would never hurt her though, I wanted to tell her so, but wolf vocal chords were not meant for speaking English.
"None. Humans don't taste good. Too much iron in our blood, not very appetizing to most creatures." The woman, I assumed was named Mia, answered.
If only that were true I thought. A dark smile spread across my muzzle.
You have no idea. Jake thought to the girl, as if she could hear him. He laughed once without humor.
Jake we can't just stand here staring at them, I thought to him, we're scaring them by the looks of it, we are pretty scary looking, I think we should change so we can talk to them.
Alright. Jake conceded.
Wow interacting with girls. Girls who aren't family, wolves, or our brother's mates. Wow, we haven't done that in a while. I don't think I remember how. I mused.
Explaining things might be a little complicated though, so be prepared. Alright, phase on the count of three. One… two… three… We phased back into our human forms.
Both women gasped. Ok, maybe doing that right in front of them wasn't the smartest thing to do. I looked up and smiled sheepishly at the Beautiful black haired girl. She fainted.
Amelia's POV
I blinked trying to get my mind to believe what my eyes were seeing. Only a second ago, there had been two huge wolves standing before me. Now in there place were two large, admittedly handsome, naked, men. They looked to be Native American. They had dark beautiful skin, and long black hair. They were both muscular, the one that had previously been the russet wolf with the familiar eyes more so than the other. He was also slightly taller, though they were both enormously tall. The man with the eyes from my dreams had to be at least 6'7", almost a foot taller than me. The other one looked about 6'5". They were both very attractive. That was an understatement, they were gorgeous. I looked over at Harper to see what she was thinking; she wasn't likely to take to this phenomenon of wolf-turned-naked-men, very well. She was far too logical to be able to accept this very easily. I had always been more open minded than she, always believed in magic, maybe not the wand waving kind, but I always believed there was more than what met the eye. As I turned to look at her, she fainted.
"Fuck!" I said, moving over to her, and crouching down beside her.
"Oh God! Is she ok? Is she hurt? Oh god." The man who had just a moment ago been a giant grey wolf was panicking slightly, funny; you'd think that would be my job after what just occurred, but no.
"She's out cold." I said looking up at him. Only years in the theater could allow me to talk to a buck naked stranger, without any embarrassment. I just avoided looking at them below the belly button. I sighed, and put one arm under Harper's knee, and the other under her shoulders.
"Are you sure you can lift her? I'll do it if you need." Grey, I didn't know his actual name, said with concern in his voice.
I smiled at him. Again my experience in theater gave me the ability to do what others found difficult. Set building often required heavy lifting, and though I was not very strong, I was strong enough to lift Harper. "It's fine I've got her." I told him, as I lifted Harper up bridal style, as that was the easies way to carry her. "You might want to think of covering yourself up though." He glanced down at himself and looked back at me, mortified.
"I-um-sorry-I-well-um-forgot…" He stuttered in his embarrassment.
"It's fine, I see people without clothing all the time; it's no big deal. Just it is easier to converse with someone who isn't exposed." I looked over at the bigger man, who had put shorts on while I was talking to his friend. He was staring at me with those eyes. I blushed and looked away, bringing Harper into the camper and laying her down on the couch. I took out a wash cloth, wet it, and laid it across Harper's forehead.
I was honestly a little shaken by this morning's happenings. I didn't know what to do. Should I send the wolf men away, try and forget what I saw? I could tell Harper that she had just been dreaming, and hope they go. The ache in my chest protested loudly to that plan. I didn't particularly like it, I was very curious as to what I had witnessed. I'd been seeing that man's eyes in my dream for far too long to let him get away without knowing more. The pain eased as I thought that I could ask them to stay, to explain. As soon as Harper wakes up, I'll demand an explanation. First I had to make sure they stayed, so I could.
I stuck my head out the door. They were just standing there, both of their heads turned when I opened the door.
"You two better stay right there." I said severely. "You owe us an explanation as soon as Harper is awake to hear it." They nodded the one who had been staring at Harper looked concerned, the one whose eyes I recognized looked terrified. Funny, he turns into a giant wolf that could rip me to bits, and he's the one who's scared. Nice.
Jacob's POV
I froze, Mia, I assumed her name was, blinked at me. She looked confused, which was understandable. She glanced over at her friend, but as she did, the brunette, fainted.
"Fuck." It startled me a little to hear that word come out of the mouth of an angel. Though, I was fairly impressed. She rushed over to her friend, as did Embry.
"Oh God! Is she ok? Is she hurt? Oh god." Embry was panicking, I could hear it in his voice. I took advantage of their distraction to pull my shorts on. They were a little dirty, after being tied to my leg for the past five days, but it didn't matter. I was a little embarrassed that these women just saw me naked, I had forgotten about that, normally it didn't matter, the pack members were the only ones around when we changed. I forgot completely, that these women, could not hear my thoughts and know to look away, or hadn't already seen so many times, after so many changes that it didn't matter. I felt myself blush a slightly, though no one would notice, and I was thankful that my dark skin didn't allow it to be noticeable.
I heard a sigh, and I looked over to see Mia, placing her arms underneath her friend, attempting to lift her by the looks of it.
"Are you sure you can lift her? I'll do it if you need." Embry offered.
Mia smiled at him, and I felt a tinge of jealousy as she did. "It's fine, I've got her." Mia said as she lifted her friend up bridal style. Again I was impressed; she was stronger than she looked. "You might want to think of covering yourself up though." She said. Embry looked down at himself, apparently he forgot about the naked thing too. He looked absolutely mortified.
"I-um-sorry-I-well-um-forgot…" He stuttered in his embarrassment.
"It's fine, I see people without clothing all the time; it's no big deal. Just it is easier to converse with someone who isn't exposed."
Again I felt a wave of jealousy. Why and how is it that she sees naked men all the time? I didn't really like that idea. She glanced over at me, and flushed when she realized I was looking at her as well. She turned and walked into the camper with the unconscious woman. Embry pulled his shorts on, still looking embarrassed. We stood there staring at the door the two girls had disappeared behind. I wanted to go in after them. I wanted to talk to Mia, and find out everything about her. I wanted to know what it would feel like to hold her, to kiss her, to be there for her. I wanted to be with her. But I couldn't go to her. I couldn't bring myself to take the few steps it would take, couldn't walk forward and knock on that door, I couldn't co it. I froze where I was standing. What if she rejected me? What if there was already someone else? What if she was too scared of me? What if she let me in, but only wanted to be friends, and she sent me away when she found someone else? I couldn't take that again. I couldn't survive another rejection like Bella's. I was over Bella, for the most part. I still thought of her from time to time, I still missed her. But I had moved past the wallowing, and the anger. But I couldn't handle it a second time. Especially if this girl was my imprint.
"Do you think she's ok?" Embry asked, snapping me out of my revere. "I feel awful, I can't believe we were so stupid! We should have moved out of sight to change. She's probably absolutely horrified. And I forgot about not having clothes on! I mean I was just exposed for them both to see. Not that I have anything to be ashamed of," I rolled my eyes at him, "but that's not really the first impression I was hoping to make."
Just then Mia stuck her head out of the door. She was so beautiful, god what do I do? I was terrified that she would reject me. I should leave now before she gets the chance to. But, no, I couldn't. And even if I could, her next words stopped me.
"You two better stay right there." She said authoritatively. "You owe us an explanation as soon as Harper is awake to hear it." Embry and I simply nodded. She smiled and ducked back into the camper.
"Wow. She's pretty impressive. I really didn't think she'd be able to lift up-" he paused for a second, "Harper." he smiled as he said her name. Oh he had it bad. I'd be more inclined to mock him if it weren't for the fact that I did too, but I was scared to admit it. "I really hope we didn't scare them too badly." Embry said sadly.
"yeah." It was all I could manage to say. I had no idea what we were supposed to do.
Amelia's POV
Harper groaned and opened her eyes. She took one look at me, and groaned again.
"Where are the wolf men?" she asked seriously.
"They're outside. I told them to stay and that they had some explaining to do." I told her, surprised she was being this calm. "I thought you'd be convinced it didn't happen, to be honest."
"I saw it happen. The look on your face told me I hadn't been dreaming. Plus the likelihood that we would have the same delusion is minimal. And I refuse to believe I'm insane, therefore it must have been real." She said matter-of-factly. I just stared at her. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm fairly interested in an explanation." Harper continued as she sat up. I was dumbfounded. Since when was she this accepting of strange things? Maybe I have rubbed off on her. Or maybe, I haven't given her the credit she deserves. I smiled and fallowed her out the door. This should be interesting.
AN: Got anything to say? Feel free, I'd love to know what you thought!
Much love, Bridget