A/N: Thank you, wonderful readers! A bit slow-going at first, yes, but pretty much everything is important for later chapters :)

Enjoy! And remember that it doesn't belong to little old me. I'm just sort of borrowing it . . . yeah.

Blood Moon

~Chapter Three~

The Pet Store

After lunch, Renesmee told Alice she had invited Jacob to walk with them while they explored the town. Alice had already figured he would be there, so she didn't mind.

They walked around the stores aimlessly for a while, Alice and Renesmee talking excitedly about things they found. Jacob thought it was funny when both girls went wild over a pair of shoes. He would never understand women and shoes, and he told them so.

Renesmee laughed. "It's okay, Jacob. My dad once said it's like the theory of dark matter or quantum gravity. Many people have their opinions and theories, but very few actually understand."

Jacob laughed out loud and wrapped an arm around her shoulders to hug her to him. Alice was surprised when her niece all but disappeared in his embrace, and she couldn't help but glare at him. He released Renesmee and rubbed her back for a second before letting his arm fall back to his side. He had noticed Alice's hostility and recognized that she could make it very difficult for him to see Renesmee again. He hated giving in to someone else's authority, but there was no doubt she was the Alpha between the two girls. He wanted Renesmee more than he wanted to show his own dominance.

Renesmee sighed when Jacob pulled away. His hug had felt so good and so warm. She wanted to ask him about his skin, but she wasn't sure how to bring it up. As they walked, they came to a pet store, and she begged to go inside.

"All right. Just remember that I am the queen of the pout, and it will not work on me," Alice said as they walked in.

Renesmee just laughed. She had learned her pouting ability from Alice. Jacob followed them hesitantly. He knew what to expect in a store like this. Renesmee cooed and went straight to the cage with the kittens. One of the associates came over to open the cage for her and reached in for a small gray cat that was playing with a ball. She smiled as she held the animal to her chest. Alice tempted it with her fingers, laughing as it swatted at her. Renesmee turned to Jacob and smiled brightly up at him. "Isn't he cute?" she asked.

Jacob nodded, but he couldn't wipe away his grimace. "He's cute."

The kitten looked up at Jacob and hissed, digging its claws into Renesmee's shoulder at the base of her neck. She yelped, and the associate grabbed the kitten to put it back in the cage.

"I'm sorry, they don't usually do that," he said reassuringly.

"Are you okay?" Jacob asked. He tried to pry her hands away from the wound to see it.

"I think so. Oh, God, that thing has sharp claws!" She scowled at the kitten, but noticed that all four cats in the cage were eyeing Jacob with their tails puffed out. "I take it cats don't like you?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Not really." He was fighting every instinct he had to shift and attack the cat for harming his imprint. He finally managed to get her hands away from the scratch and sucked in a breath when he saw it. The skin around the four marks was red, and they were all bleeding. "You should clean this up before it gets infected."

Alice was amazed by the reaction the cat had to Jacob. She noticed a few other animals around the store acting weird, too. The birds were chirping loudly as they bobbed their heads up and down, and some of the dogs were barking and growling. "I'll take her to the bathroom. Be back in a minute."

Jacob nodded. "I'll wait outside." He went out to the curb and took a deep breath to calm himself down. He knew Renesmee was fine, but even that tiny wound made him feel like he was losing control. He hadn't lost control of himself in over ten years. He sat down on the curb and put his head down on his arms, just trying to stay calm.

"That was so weird," Alice said quietly when they got into the bathroom.

"No kidding. Did you see his eyes?" Alice shook her head. "They were . . . weird." Jacob's eyes had been dark since she met him, but there was something about them after the cat scratched her that was harsher and more piercing than before. It reminded her strangely of the way the wolf had looked at her.

"We'll have to put some Neosporin or something on this when we get home. Stupid animal got you really good."

"I don't think I like cats anymore," Renesmee laughed, wiping a tear from her eye. The warm paper towel stung against the tears in her flesh.

Alice laughed and finished up. "I think it's about time we head home, honey. It'll be late enough to start dinner by the time we get back."

Renesmee nodded. She didn't want to have to leave yet, but she knew it was time. They walked out to meet Jacob. He stood up when he saw them come out and winced at the marks on Renesmee's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, gently touching the skin around the scratches.

She shrugged. "It's okay. Why did they do that, though?" She wasn't sure if he knew, but the look in his eyes said he did.

Jacob wanted to confess everything right then. He couldn't do it with Alice standing in earshot and strangers passing by, though. "It's kind of a long story."

She nodded. "Maybe you'll tell me sometime?"

"Maybe." He smiled at her.

Alice cleared her throat. She didn't want to be rude, but they needed to leave.

"My aunt and I need to get back home," Renesmee said, looking down. She glanced over at Alice and hoped she would give them a few minutes to say goodbye.

Alice got the hint. "I'm going to call Jasper and let him know we'll be on our way soon. Be back in a second." She walked far enough away that she could keep an eye on them but still give them some privacy.

"I'd like to see you again," Jacob said as he brushed her hair behind her shoulder.

Renesmee smiled up at him. "Me, too."

"Maybe we could meet here again? I could take you to dinner or something. Or I could come get you."

"There are a few little restaurants in Forks if you wanted to come get me." She didn't want him to have to drive all over hell and back just to take her to dinner.

"That would be fine. When should we get together?"

Renesmee bit her lip and thought about it for a second. "I'm going fishing with my uncle tomorrow, and I think he wanted me to help him with some things around the house. Is next weekend too late?"

"Of course not; that will be fine." He wondered why she asked that. He was at her mercy, one hundred percent.

"Thank you. Next Saturday then? Maybe you could come out earlier and we could hang out for a while?"

Jacob nodded. "That sounds good. Noon?"

She smiled. "Perfect." She gave him directions to get to her house, and he said he knew the area; he should be able to find it easily.

Alice came back over and felt bad when her niece gave her a sad look. "It's time to go, honey." She turned to Jacob. "It was nice to meet you." She held out her hand.

"You, too, Alice." Jacob shook her hand and turned back to Renesmee. "I'll see you soon, okay?" he said, pulling her into a hug.

"Okay," she breathed. His grip was tight, but she wrapped her arms around his waist as hard as she could.

Jacob reluctantly pulled back and walked the girls to their car. He opened the door for Renesmee. "Be safe," he said. He touched her cheek before she got in.

"I will. You, too."

He just smiled and closed the door once she was in. He stepped up on to the curb so they could go and watched as they drove away. Once they were out of view, he headed toward the trees to shift and follow them to make sure they made it safely.

Renesmee looked out the window and sighed dreamily as she thought about Jacob. She didn't like that she had to wait a whole week before she could see him again, but she knew it was going to be worth it.

"That much, huh?" Alice asked.

"What?"

"You like him that much." Renesmee blushed, causing Alice to laugh. "He was very polite and nice. He was also very hot." Alice laughed again when Renesmee tried to hide her instant smile.

"I'm telling Uncle Jasper that you said another man was hot."

"Well, that's not exactly what I mean, but he was very good-looking. No, didn't you notice the temperature of his skin? It was flaming."

"I noticed," Renesmee said with another dreamy sigh. Jacob's warm hug was only one of the things that she had been thinking about as the scenery flew by.

"You got it bad."

"I can't deny it. He's going to pick me up next Saturday, by the way. We're going to have lunch or something, so just plan on me not being there."

Alice nodded. She wasn't sure at which point throughout the day she knew, but somehow she got the impression that they would be seeing each other again. "All right, just make sure he stays long enough to meet Jasper. I don't want to tell your parents that you went out on a date without the guy being properly scared out of his mind."

Renesmee laughed. "Yeah, Dad with his knives and Uncle Jasper with his guns. Between the two of them, I may never get married."

"Sure you will, honey. One day you'll meet a guy who loves you more than his penis."

They pulled into the driveway and went inside. "Welcome back," Jasper said as he kissed his wife. "Did you ladies have fun?"

Renesmee couldn't stop the smile that spread across her lips. Alice chuckled.

"Uh-oh. What did you two do?" He noticed the scratches on Renesmee's shoulder. "What happened?"

"We didn't do anything," Renesmee said. "I just met someone and got scratched by a cat in the pet shop."

"Oh . . . and who did you meet?"

"Jacob."

Jasper laughed at the blush on her cheeks. Alice filled him in on who Jacob was and the spontaneous cat attack. "And I guess he's coming over Saturday to take her out. On a date." Alice looked at Jasper pointedly.

"I get to meet him, right?" he asked. "Make sure he knows how to treat a lady."

"You're going to threaten him, aren't you?" Renesmee asked.

He shook his head. "No, but I will let him know—nicely—that if he hurts you in anyway, I happen to have a vast selection of various weapons with which I could, potentially, make him regret it."

Renesmee rolled her eyes. "That would be threatening him."

"So it would. But I will do it nicely. I won't be like your dad."

Renesmee laughed out loud as she walked into the kitchen with her aunt. "You better not. I kinda like him. Although, even if you did sit there sharpening your knives and talk about which body parts a blade could cut through, he'd probably do the Crocodile Dundee thing and pull out a bigger knife." Jacob just seemed like he wouldn't be afraid of anything.

Alice giggled as she started to pull ingredients out for dinner. "Renesmee, will you grab the milk, please?" she asked. Renesmee nodded.

"If he thinks he can outgun me, I'd like to see him try."

They all cooked dinner together and sat down to eat. After dinner, Alice helped Renesmee clean and bandage her scratches.

"They still hurt," Renesmee complained.

"I know, honey. They should be healed by your date, though."

Renesmee smiled at the thought of actually having a date with Jacob. Alice just laughed.

After she was bandaged, she excused herself to her bedroom and tried to read one of her new books. She couldn't seem to get through a few sentences before she thought of Jacob again. After a few minutes, she gave up on the book and turned to lie on her back. She stared at the ceiling as she remembered every detail of the day. Only six more days until she could see him again. The more she thought about him, the longer those six days seemed. She sighed. Jacob . . . Jake. She wondered if he would be upset if she shortened his name. Jake seemed to fit him more than Jacob.

A/N: Thanks for reading!