~Don't let me fall~

Chapter two

Jared's point of view

I watched her walk away, her beautiful eyes shooting through me as she turned to give me one last glance, that last quick glance offering me a lifeline as it restarted my heart that had been shocked into a stillness by the imprint. I didn't even notice Mrs Miller shouting in my ear, I just watched after my angel as she slipped into her classroom.

I had imprinted. Holy crap. I had never given it much thought, figured either it would happen or it wouldn't but right now I was so glad it had. She was perfect. She was more than perfect she was...well...perfect. It was the only way I could describe her. She had the most amazing big brown eyes, her cheeks were rosy but naturally so, not like the other girls here that caked on make up to try make themselves good looking. She didn't need that stuff, her hair was in soft waves down her back, the silky ebony black shone against the hallway lights as she walked from me and I found myself soaking in every inch of her appearance. She was too thin, that was all I could find to fault, not because it made her look bad, it wasn't a sickly thin but I just had an overwhelming urge to take her to dinner every night, spoil her rotten and make sure she was healthy and looked after. Although I am sure she was healthy and looked after, she had to be.

"Jared Cameron are you even listening to me you insolent little boy?" The shrieking call of the school secretary screamed in my ear and I was brought from the cloud I was bouncing on named Kim. Her name was beautiful, just like her. It suited her. I turned to the little plump lady wagging her finger at me, raising my eye brows in surprise as I was hit with the overpowering scent of coffee and cheap perfume. I had to hold in my grimace thanks to my wolf super senses, it was vile. "Well?" She snapped again and my mind came crashing back to reality. My hands began shaking not from anger but from the startling reality that I had in fact just imprinted and my whole body was fighting violently against the urge inside me to run after the girl. I needed Sam.

Without another look her way I turned and marched toward the front door to the school, the loud variety of insulting shrieks following me the whole way out but it was nothing I hadn't heard before from teachers here that watched me just walk out whenever I felt like it. Obnoxious was their favourite insult, but I said nothing back like always. They could think I was just an obnoxious little kid who went out and did drugs rather than stay in school but I knew the truth, the truth was that I was out most nights protecting their asses. One day I would be thanked or at least recognised for the fact my obnoxious ass went on the line for theirs every day even at the young age of 17.

I ran through the parking lot, heading directly for the trees where I knew I would be met with one of my brothers, although which one it would be was beyond me. I had no idea who was on patrol today. I stripped off my clothes as I hit the safety of the bushes and trees and tied my shorts to my leg, we wolves had found by now that keeping string in our pockets at all times came in handy unless we wanted to walk into Emily's house naked as the day we were born. Although, it wasn't like she hadn't seen it already, the poor girl had seen every single one of us completely bare assed she stopped yelling after a while. But then again, she probably didn't mind seeing ours especially if it gave her a break from Sam's saggy backside.

"Oi" The hard shout of my alpha rang through my head as I phased and my previous thoughts were revealed to him. I heard stifled laughter somewhere else but couldn't pin point that it was. "I don't have a saggy backside you little cretin" He barked at me again as I made my way towards Emily's house.

"You could do with doing a few squats bro" Paul piped up now and I realised the stifled laughter was him. He was a few years older than me, he had left school shortly before phasing but our families had been close since we were babies and so we had grown up practically best friends.

"Har har har, you two are just hilarious. Shut it." Sam snapped again and I could feel his irritability growing, he just couldn't take the banter. The silent threat that followed backed up my comment, his thoughts somewhat along the line of unless we shut up we would be forced to do patrols with Jacob Black, the biggest procrastinator we had ever had the pleasure of meeting. He was a good friend of mine but damn the boy was boring as hell. Bella this, Bella that..it got a little thin after a while.

"Why aren't you in school oh young one?" Paul joked as he barked more annoying remarks toward Sam who had taken too loudly singing nursery rhymes in his head to block us out. Major downside of being a wolf was the mind reading thing, you couldn't hide anything, you couldn't have any peace whilst phased, you just basically unwillingly signed away your life secrets and before I could stop myself a vision of Kim ran across my mind immediately sparking interest from both of my wolf brothers. I had wanted to tell them while human.

"Oh damn, another one bites the dust. Your life is over dude...goodbye afternoons with your boys hello shopping sprees, manicure appointments and hearing a hell of a lot of 'Baby can I borrow your credit card, mine broke'" He offered in his very best impression of Rachel Black, Jacob's older sister and Paul's imprint. They had been together a few months, not as long as Sam and Emily, they had been going for like a year now.

I could hear the jokiness in Paul's voice as he spoke but I immediately growled without meaning too, suddenly angry at the thought of anyone thinking Kim could be that sort of girl. Besides if she was I would happily give her my card, take her shopping and even sit through hair and nail appointments with her just to see that smile.

"You really did imprint. You'll regret you ever said that when your following her around various clothing stores only for her to go home with zero new items...four hours we were in Port Angeles and nothing, not a single thing except some stupid iced coffee" Sam offered, I had to laugh at this one, Sam could not let it go and it had happened like four months ago.

"So who is the lucky lady?" Paul asked this time, obviously not recognising the image in my head, not that he should. We were a few years below him at school and Sam had probably never seen her before in his life. I didn't want to talk about it as a wolf though; I wanted to actually see them.

"Meet back at mine, Emily was just making cookies when I left" Sam offered and I began running instantly as Paul shouted various versions of 'hell yeah' at the idea of Emily's baked goods. She was a damn fine cook. But I could imagine Kim to be better; she looked like a homely type.

"That's what I thought about Rach and she actually managed to give me food poisoning" Paul joked again as he ran harder toward the house. Rachel was an exceptionally bad cook. Us wolves shouldn't technically be able to get sick because of our high metabolisms and healing fast, I had once seen Embry and Quil eat gone off eggs and drink lumpy milk and not get ill but Rachel cooked one meal for Paul and bam. First wolf to be bed ridden, it lasted two days before he could even stand up straight.

Both of my brothers phased out, leaving me in the rare tranquillity of my wolf. Kim's face splashed through my mind, her laugh that I had only heard from afar during classes was now ringing through my ears although I had never paid much attention before. She was beautiful. I wasn't like the others, I knew they were only joking about the life being over stuff, they happily gave up their free time to be with Rachel and Emily. I knew Paul would get a manicure himself if it made Rachel smile, but before I had thought they were soppy gits. But right now I understood, I would leap off a plane to make her smile, get stung by a thousand wasps if it meant she was unhurt and her skin untouched. I would literally do anything, my whole life now revolved around her and it felt amazing.

I bounded into the small yard, phasing as I leapt toward a nearby broken down truck and pulled my shorts on. I could already hear the other two inside, probably filling Emily in on the details of what they had found out and as I made my way closer I could smell the fresh cookies Sam had promised. The day was getting better each second. All I wanted to do was tell my brothers what had happened and get back to her, to watch her, be near her and make sure no assholes like Corey Blackmore touched her again. My inner wolf growled. Angry that another man had hurt her but proud that I had stepped up like I had, if I hadn't then I wouldn't have looked into those swirling brown eyes. I wasn't even sure what made me stand up to him, I hadn't a clue who it was he had hit, I just felt a surge to do something and so I had, subsequently giving me the best reward I could ask for.

I leapt in through the open front door, the two guys and Emily all turned to look at me, anticipation evident on each face as they peered at me from the kitchen table. Emily offered me a smile before handing me the plate of cookies but I declined, even with them smelling so good I couldn't swallow right now. I was too buzzed and eager to tell all. To speak her name from my lips, to tell the world she was mine.

"So?" Sam started as Emily manoeuvred herself to sit in his lap. "Who is she?"

"She's pretty I'll give you that. I had bets with Embry you'd get lumped with a right spoon" Paul chuckled to himself and I didn't find it hard to believe. We had all made bets on imprints from the minute new wolves phased. I had bet that Paul would get stuck with a high maintenance chick, and he had hit that right on the head with Rachel. His impression of her was spot on. Don't get me wrong, she was a nice girl but damn she could shop, especially if it had daddy or Paul's name on the card.

"Hello not getting any younger here?" Emily piped up, jumping excitedly in Sam's lap, she had gotten like this over Rachel she liked having new imprints around it made her not be the only girl.

I took a large intake of breath, building myself up to speak her delicate name and my hands shook with nerves as I realised the reality of it all. She was mine, but she wasn't mine, not yet. I had to win her, I had to make her love me like I already loved her. "Kim. Kim Michaels" I near enough whispered as I let the name slip from my lips. I hadn't known I knew her second name but it came out all the same. Paul cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out if he knew her while Emily and Sam shot one another looks, I couldn't quite decipher what the looks were but it didn't look nice.

"What?" I shot out quickly as Emily shifted uncomfortably in Sam's lap and stood up to flutter to the kitchen. They both gave each other another look before turning to me.

"I know the Michaels family" Sam offered first, his eyes narrowing in question of himself. "Well, I don't know them know them but I have heard of them. I hear of them here and there" He shrugged trying to play it cool but Emily was still fluttering nervously around.

"What Emily?" I asked suddenly overcome with nerves that she was about to say Kim was already married or something crazy like that. I was sure it wasn't that but Emily was making me nervous.

She fumbled with her hands, twiddling her fingers around one another while biting her lip so hard I think she bit right through her skin. "Well...it's just that her family..they went through stuff. Rachel teaches the younger one. They well. They have problems" She near enough whispered as if speaking the words loud was a taboo. My anger immediately peaked and I had to fight against the urge to growl at the small woman in front of me.

"She does not have problems. She's perfect." I spoke through clenched teeth. There was nothing wrong with her. Kim was perfect in every way and Rachel was speaking out of her ass if she said otherwise.

Emily rushed forward and placed herself back next to Sam. Clamping her hand on his shoulder for support and he turned to offer it. "She doesn't mean it like that Jared. It's just that her family have been through things" He stopped, narrowing his eyes at me like I was crazy for not understanding. I had no idea what they meant; I knew nothing about her family. At least I don't think I did. "Sophie Michaels?" Sam spoke again; this time shaking his head at me like I was a complete idiot and before I could mull over the name he offered Paul slammed his hand down on the table making Emily jump a mile.

"Sophie Michaels. I knew I knew that name. Kim was her sister. I remember now, she was in my class we used to sit together in Math" Paul near enough yelled as he jumped around near the table, but soon enough his jumping stilled and his eyes grew wide almost in realisation. "Damn that's tough, poor girl" He mumbled and Sam nodded in agreement while Emily stayed biting her lip. I had no idea what was there problem. Sophie Michaels? Who was Sophie Michaels?

Emily stood suddenly, walking to the kitchen counter before picking up her phone. She tapped at the screen a few times before walking back to me. Her eyes had a sad greyness to them and she slowly handed the phone to me. My eyes scanned the lit up screen noticing Kim's family name a few times before reading the information that made my heart sink as I remembered what the others already had. Now I understood, now I remembered that long cold unusually misty winter that tainted La Push's straight friendly image, the night that ended the coldest of all winters we had ever had. Every parent on the res held their child that bit tighter after that night. Damn.

"What do I do?" I whispered as Emily's hand came down on my arm calming me before I worked myself up any further. I looked to my brothers for support; both of them just stared at me.

Hello! Thank you for the reviews and everything, means a lot :D

Those who asked if you would find out what happened..of course you will! Right after I am done torturing you over it haha...no I'm joking, it won't take long to get to it I just want to work the story a bit more before I reveal it properly but feel free to give me your ideas on what you think happened :D

I am a bit swamped with work and studying at the minute so updates will be a little all over the place but I promise not to go longer than 4 days without a new update and when I can I will post double updates to make up for the waiting. Thank you and keep reading. :D

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