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I do not own anything Bitten related (except Rose, she's mine)

I'm not really into long intros, so here's Chapter 4. Enjoy!

Chapter 4

When Jeremy dismissed me for the evening I went straight to my room to shower and then joined the rest of the pack in the living room where Nick handed me a glass of what looked to be whiskey. I took it and sat beside him.

"Clay said you did well today in training." Nick began. "That's good! You'll have to go against me one day."

"Do you really fight that many people?"

"I don't expect to fight anyone anytime soon considering we are in a time of peace, but should the need arise, everyone must be fully trained." Jeremy said. I slowly nod and throw back the glass in a single swallow. These past couple days have just been too damn much.

"I'll be leaving tomorrow for Maine." Nick said all of a sudden. I turn to him with my eyebrows raised.

"You are?"

"Yeah, I have to fake your death." I sobered up from my excitement.

"How are you going to do it?"

"We're going to keep as close as to what actually happened as we can. So I'll need a few pints of your blood so we can say that you died in a wolf attack and they dragged your body away."

"So my parents will think my body was eaten?" He nodded. "There will be nothing to bury. They will think my corpse will be laying in the woods, forgotten and unknown." I sigh. "But I guess there is nothing else we can do. Will you be seeing my parents?"

He nodded. "Maybe." I sigh again and Nick refills my drink only to have me throw it down my throat in one swallow. "You can handle your booze rather well." He stated.

I shrugged. "It's cheaper than Zoloft; my entire academic career has been filled with stressful timelines to meet, besides isn't every college student a high-functioning alcoholic?" Nick made a face, slightly agreeing with me. Sasha came into the room with a needle and an empty blood bag. He knelt beside me and sterilized my arm before sticking the needle in the crook of my elbow. This was my life now, giving blood to fake my own death. Nick's hand was in mine trying his best to be the rock in my life and I do have to admit that it is nice to have someone steady in this new life of mine.

. . .

I was out the door before the sun rose the next morning. Jeremy had just woken up, a robe tied around his body as he told me goodbye. So here I was now, driving to Maine with a suitcase with a blood bag in it to fake a girl's death.

The drive seemed to take forever but it was just under seven hours. First things first, I stopped by the hiking trail that Rose said she was on when she was attacked. Luckily, it was blocked off for evidence so there wasn't anyone here, not even any police officers, but I knew they would be here shortly so I made quick work and smelled my way to Rose's attack site.

There were signs of a struggle, leaves pushed aside as she was dragged, twigs snapped. I pulled out her blood and began sprinkling it around only to pour most of it out in the spot she was bitten. I could smell faint hints of the wolf that attacked her and I didn't recognize the scent. I tracked the scent, sprinkling a little blood here and there. I came to a small cave where the scent was the strongest, the wolf was long gone but this is where he waited for her. I saw a pair of pants sticking out and I quickly grabbed it and strategically poured the rest of the blood in the cave. I had to move quickly, I heard cops arriving on the scene. It would take a while for them to find the blood which would give it time to dry.

I made it back in my car just in time to be on the move before any cops saw me. Which was good because I had another mission.

. . .

We ate breakfast together but it was weird. I felt compelled to wait until Jeremy had taken his first bite and then I remembered that in the wild, the Alpha Male always gets first claim at the kill. Each day that passes just gets weirder and weirder.

After breakfast, Jeremy wanted me to race Elena and Marsten who are supposed to be the fastest in the pack so I could see where I placed among them. Marsten winked at me as we stretched.

"Fancy a slight jog today, Rose?"

I smiled. "Oh, yes, the weather today is just splendid, I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a 'slight jog'."

"You're such a pig, Karl." Elena said.

"I just can't help myself around such a pretty lady."

"How do you know I'm a lady?" I said, raising my eyebrow at him. His eyes widened as I jested back at him and I could see similar looks in the faces of those gathered to watch.

"On my watch!" Jeremy called. "Go!"

The three of us took off, pretty even at first but Elena pulled ahead early on. Marsten was trying to use his strength to push his legs farther than ours but we were slimmer with longer legs so our bodies were able to cut the air faster. I winked at Marsten as I passed him, to gain ground on Elena. She looked at me as I met her stride, her breath going just faster than mine. I was never a runner before so I don't know what is causing me to be faster than Elena, but I easily pulled ahead of her and made it around the land and back to the house before any of them.

I smiled at Jeremy's vaguely surprised face as he saw that I was the first one back. "I can dance well too." I said, vocally adding another skill the mental list of my skills that I knew he was keeping.

"Holy shit." Aleksei sort of moaned. I can't really blame the kid for having a crush but it was getting a little old of every guy around here being impressed by me. Elena broke through the trees and when she slowed down to a halt, she panted out how impressed she was by me.

"No one has ever beaten me in a race." She said before guzzling some water.

We did a few more tests that day, comparing my abilities to hers. She was stronger than me, by quite a bit although I proved to be stronger than Marsten and Aleksei. She also had better tracking abilities although my sense of smell was quite better than average as well, but I had better hearing. Jeremy did not take his eyes off of me once, his grey eyes took in everything I was capable off, every hit I landed, every hit that was landed on me, the stride of my run, of my walk, all the way down to how I held my hands up to defend my face he silently critiqued.

It was dark before he called off the battles. This was my time to question Elena about what our differences and similarities regarding our bodies since our change are, but I found myself creeping towards the library after my shower. I could smell Jeremy inside and I was about to walk away as to not disturb him when he called me to come inside.

"Sorry if I disturbed you." I said, quietly as to not disturb the silence of the room.

"You did not, please come in." I did so and closed the door behind me as I did. "You did quite well today." He said, trying to start a conversation.

"Really? Thank you."

He nodded. "Nick called. He has successfully falsified your death so you should be free to leave the house soon."

"That's good, I'm grateful for Nick buying me clothes but some of them just aren't my style." He smiled weakly, not showing his teeth. He gestured for me to sit in front of him and I did so, not wanting to dampen the good mood he seemed to be in. I glanced at the book in his hands. "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn? Good choice."

He raised an eyebrow. "You've read it?"

I nodded. "I took a Working Lit class at U of M where we were required to read that. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it."

"Why were you surprised?"

"American literature isn't exactly my interest, especially literature expressing the plights of the middle and lower classes. I know that sounds incredibly sanctimonious of me, I don't really know why but I enjoy the drama and art of literature that I don't quite understand. Like, I don't really understand the struggles of the upper classes, but-"

"It's a struggle that you have not experienced, which is why it is interesting. As humans, we tend to want something to take our minds away from our struggles so we pick art that takes us away from our own difficulties and into the life of someone else with worries completely different from us."

I smiled as I curled deeper into the leather chair. "Exactly."

He placed a bookmark in his book and crossed his legs so that I knew that I had his full attention. "Have you changed into the wolf since you're arrival?"

"No." I rub my arm in nervousness, anxiously scratching at my newly healed bite mark.

"You will need to change at least once a week."

"Is it always painful?"

"Always. For everyone." He reached forward and rested his hand on mine. "We will find the wolf that bit you." I nodded, staring into his stormy grey/blue eyes. Jeremy really was beautiful, in a rugged, serious kind of way. When he realized he still had his hand on mine, he pulled away, looking a little embarrassed. He had to clear his throat before he spoke again. "You've made quite an impression since you've arrived." I raised an eyebrow and he continued. "Between Nick, Marsten, and Aleksei, you're the center of their attention."

I chuckled embarrassingly, my cheeks flushing. "You mean I'm not on Kane's mind? I'm a little hurt?"

He chuckled as well. "Yes, well, Kane is still mourning the loss of his girlfriend."

I stopped laughing. "Oh. I had no idea."

He lifted a hand as if to say 'it's okay'. "He's slowly getting better." He subconsciously fingered the edge of his book so I needed to change the subject quickly if I wanted him to keep talking to me.

"I'd like to see some of your work someday." I mentioned.

"I am due to start a new project soon for a client." He mused.

I smiled. "I'd like to see you paint. I've never been quite good at painting, so I'd like to see a master."

He smiled and I could see a hint of his teeth. "You flatter me. I am by no means a master."

"But you're able to sell your work, so much so that you're able to make a profit? There aren't many artists who can say that."

"I remember when I mentioned to my father that I wanted to be a painter. He became completely unglued because he deemed any sort of art a feminine vocation."

"Forget your father, look at how successful you are."

"You are very optimistic."

I shook my head. "Not really, but I have always hated hearing people speak negatively about themselves. It's ironic, really, that I want my loved ones to think of themselves capable of anything they desire while I'm so incredibly hard on myself. But I can't seem to change that about myself."

"You have an entire pack to support you now."

"Yeah, I guess I do." We sat in silence for a few moments, neither of us finding another topic to discuss but the silence was strangely comfortable and eventually I heard him open his book up again. This feeling was so serene, between the sound of the crackling fire, the smell of old books, and the steady sound of Jeremy turning pages I was asleep within moments.

I just love Jeremy! It seems like every other character on Bitten got a love interest except him.

Which I guess works for me because it leaves it open for an OC character to sweep in and steal his heart!
I'm going to try and upload at least once every weekend!

Thanks for reading!