A/N: Songs! "Follow The Sun" by Xavier Rudd, "Lord Almighty" by Dirtwire, "Glory Box" by The Avener, and "No Good" by Kaleo. Enjoy!
"Kyyyyyraaaaa!" Jacob shouted from the kitchen, cooking an obnoxious amount of bacon on the stove, "It's time to wake up, we gotta get you to school!"
"Morning, Daddy!" She called a few minutes later, walking into the kitchen while running a brush through her black hair. "Am I going to Aunt Emily's after school?"
Jacob shook his head, "I"ll pick you up and you can come to the garage with me for a bit, if that's okay. You can tell me about school and we can work on your homework and I may even let you help me change some cars' oil." He waved the spatula around Kyra's face in a circle while he talked, teasing her. She scrunched up her nose and giggled.
"I can do a oil change all by myself!" She exclaimed, puffing her chest out, proud. Jacob laughed and nodded, "I know you can, baby. But you aren't getting paid for it, so let's let Daddy do all the work, yeah?" Kyra just shrugged and popped a piece of bacon into her mouth from Jacob's plate.
As they drove the short distance to school, Kyra was overly excited about something, but Jacob was honestly only half paying attention. She was excited about everything, always. Jacob's sunny disposition had just been passed onto his daughter and expounded ten-fold.
Kim passed them in the hallway, on her way to the front office and said, "Hey guys! I invited Kyra's new teacher to the cookout this weekend, so we'll have a fresh face. Just a heads up. Have a good day you two!" She winked at Jacob then, he knew she had been trying to hook him up with people for years, but she had never invited someone to a pack cookout before, not that Jacob minded, he wanted to get to know Sydney Delahunt better.
Kyra was rambling about butterflies when she got to her classroom and stopped abruptly. "Ms. Delahunt! It looks like a fairy castle in here!" She exclaimed. Jacob rolled his eyes and leaned against the doorway, but as he looked inside he taken aback by what he saw. It was a complete transformation from the day before, soft light getting thrown in every direction, with colors playing against the walls in the form of art projects, and Sydney Delahunt standing in the middle of the room, looking as beautiful as ever with her soft curls playing around her face like a halo and her dark green sweater hugging her curves in all the right places. It took Jacob a second to realize it but she was staring at him, he felt himself smirk.
"It looks great in here, I'm impressed." He managed to get out. "Kim mentioned you'll be joining us for the weekend, hope you're ready to wrestle Seth for food." Seth let out his best dramatic sigh and managed to knock into Jacob's shoulder on his way out the door. Drama queen.
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. You'll be there as well? She asked then, tucking a stray curl behind her ear and it took everything in Jacob's power not to run his fingers through the beautiful curl that was now confined. Her dark green eyes seem to pull him in, seem to call to him.
"Mista Black! I need to get to my classroom!" He felt a small tug at the back of his knees and turned to see eight small children standing behind him impatiently. He laughed and ducked his head into the doorway, giving way to the small herd of 3rd graders. The kids were stoked when they saw what she had done to their classroom, Jacob hadn't seen them that excited in months.
"It's times like this I remember why I got into teaching in the first place….I just love them" Sydney said then, and Jacob looked to her. She was smiling with love in her eyes and her hands clasped together. This woman had to be the most selfless person he had ever met. "Jed! Don't touch the ends of those, they have sharp edges and they can cut your finger if you're not careful!" She exclaimed then, looking at the small boy who had one finger raised, eyes wide, his proverbial hand caught in the cookie jar. Jacob snorted through his nose.
"I'd be really impressed if any of those plants last past 3pm" Jacob said out of the side of his mouth. Sydney turned to him with a burning glare and it was the hottest thing Jacob had ever seen. She was a spitfire and he reveled in it.
"Oh, ye of little faith, you'd be surprised. I still had a plant my teacher gave me in 1st grade in my college dorm and then it came with me to my apartment. It was this adorable little wax agave and it looked like a pink lotus flower. I had to leave it behind with this move, but just like I did, they'll take care of them." Sydney had trailed off, getting lost in her own thoughts and memories, Jacob assumed and she looked away vacantly. Whatever had caused her to move her was still pretty fresh Jacob thought to himself. But he wanted to make her feel better, anything to put that smile back on her face.
"I know Kyra won't be able to leave that thing alone, she'll probably drown it trying to love it too much." He joked, Sydney just shrugged and continued looking out at the class. The shrill and obnoxious bell rang then, causing Jacob to freeze. He hated that stupid fucking bell, so did his wolf.
"I'll see you after school?" She asked suddenly, taking Jacob by surprise, to which he responded, "Definitely. And Sydney?" He needed to see that smile again. "Thanks again for all of this. It means a lot to everyone, it's nice to know my daughter is in good hands." He gestured around the room and caught Sydney looking at his left hand, searching for something. That smile came back onto her lips slowly and she waved at him.
He watched her for a moment and she walked to the front of the class, hands clasped behind her back as she explained the plants to the small kids. Jacob stole a glance at Kyra who was transfixed by her teacher. Me too, kid, me too. He thought.
Jacob felt himself settle into the shift, the fur freeing itself from the confines of skin and he stretched his limbs and shook his massive head. He took a deep breath and looked around the forest surrounding him. A wolf came up to him with his head bowed slightly in subconscious submission.
"Nothing out of the ordinary, just some hikers who got lost. I'm going to the garage to work on Sue's car, we told her it would be done today. See you in a few hours?" Jacob heard Embry's thoughts pierce through his mind. Jacob nodded his head and turned so Embry could shift back in relative privacy, and took off through the trees, the well-worn patrol path underneath him.
He tried to make sure each wolf only had to do a few hours of patrol a day for two reasons. One, there hadn't been a leech anywhere near their lands in years, not even a nomad. That didn't mean Jacob was going to get rid of patrols entirely, it just meant that they cut back drastically. Two, they were all tired. So fucking tired. They all had lives, children, jobs, loved ones, and patrol was exhausting, bordering on debilitating. You were running hundreds of miles in a few hours and that did a number on your body, even if your wolf could handle it.
But Jacob, as Alpha, liked to be around when others were patrolling to offer support when he could. Sometimes that meant just talking to a wolf through the pack mind while they ran to distract them or running their shift for them, letting them sleep for a few hours. He tried to be as understanding as he could, and life was hectic. Especially when there were 12 people to keep track of, plus the imprints, plus the children. It was mentally overwhelming.
Jacob had taken to creating a schedule that stayed the same every week that he had posted in his house, where pack members could write if they needed to switch, for whatever reason, and others could cover for them or, as it often happened, Jacob would cover for them. He didn't mind. He knew when he needed his shift covered, his packmates had his back, as he had theirs.
But right now, he was alone, his scheduled shift was right after he dropped Kyra off at school, and usually lasted until 2pm, and it felt so good just to run. He felt his wolf preen at the ability to run free, to go as hard as he wanted. He ran the perimeter of La Push and started heading towards Olympic National Park when he felt Quil phase in.
"You're late." Jacob thought flatly.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't have an excuse, I just slept late. First time I've done that in years." Quil thought back. Jacob was confused, the wolves normally didn't sleep past 5am, and it was now 9am.
"I don't know what it's about, man. I think it's 'cause Claire is starting to sleep later and later and so the imprint is moving my schedule back, I don't know for sure though."
"Maybe, how's she doing this week? Any better?" Jacob asked. Claire hadn't been feeling well last week, and it sent Quil into a near panic.
"She's better physically, yeah, but the sass is something I wasn't prepared for. I swear, these next few years are going to actually kill me. Give me a coven of vampires, no problem but a teenaged Claire? Fuck." Jacob could feel himself laughing as Quil thought about Claire an hour before, hands on her hips, huffing, and a face that screamed annoyance after finding out the muffins were gone for breakfast.
Quil was still imprinted on Claire who was 12 now, about to be 13, and he felt like her protective older brother. He hadn't aged since he phased, probably because Claire still hadn't caught up to him. What worried Quil the most though, was Claire was starting to notice boys and he didn't know if he would be able to handle any male coming near her.
"You get west side of the park and I'll hit Forks?" Quil asked, and Jacob thought his acknowledgement. They both ran their loops in relative quiet and Jacob could feel his thoughts straying to Kyra's new teacher, Sydney.
He was glad someone had taken the place of the last teacher they had, who was underqualified and definitely just there for the paycheck. Sydney brought something…else. She cared. Truly cared. It was like kindness was seeping from her pores. After he saw her that first day, he couldn't get her out of his head but it wasn't the pure, unbridled possessiveness that was an imprint. He just felt…drawn to her. He couldn't describe it. And after talking to her this morning, he wanted nothing more than to get to know her.
"I think you like her. A normal ol' school yard crush. None of us have had one in so long we forgot what it feels like" Quil interjected his thoughts into Jacob's monologue.
"I don't know. It isn't as strong as the imprint pull, but there's still something there. I can't describe it so I'll just show you." Jacob let his thoughts drift in Quil's direction, he may be Alpha but Quil was still his best friend and he would always go to him with girl problems, no matter how old they were.
"Huh." Was all he said. Jacob rolled his lupine eyes.
"Super helpful, dude."
"Maybe you're imprinted but it's not as powerful because you're Alpha? Like, your imprint shouldn't get in the way of the pack? I don't know. Or maybe I was right earlier, you have a hard core crush on her. She is hot though. Good for you, I think you should go for it." Quil's thoughts churned out.
"Sure sure. I'll talk to my dad, see if he knows anything." Was all Jacob managed while fear took hold of him. What if he had imprinted? Shit, he couldn't deal with that. There was too much going on. He had Kyra to think about, the pack, his garage, he couldn't take on trying to bond with someone who he was fated to for all of eternity. He didn't know anything about her, sure, she seemed nice, but what if she wasn't, what if she couldn't handle what he was? What if she rejected him?
"Woah, dude, calm the fuck down. Just an idea. Right now she's just Kyra's hot new teacher." Quil's thoughts then jumped to the Van Halen song, Hot For Teacher and he started singing along off key in his mind. Jacob took a breath, and put his snout to the ground, smelling the dirt beneath him, grounding himself. Quil always had a way of lightening the situation.
And anyways, Quil was right, he'd figure it out later. He laughed as Quil continued his Van Halen karaoke throughout the patrol. "And on that note, I'm gonna head to the garage, make sure to run La Push one more time before Michael jumps on, see ya later man." Jake cut in to the sung guitar solo that was currently occupying Quil's mind. He felt Quil's acknowledgement and Jacob jogged closer to the tree line near the garage.
Jacob grabbed a pair of shorts from the weatherproof crate behind one of the larger trees. The pack kept about 30 pairs of shorts out there along with other random items like burner cell phones (anger issues still plagued them and cell phones were easy to smash), shirts (now that they weren't teenagers anymore, running on hormones and egos, they had become aware that running around shirtless wasn't exactly acceptable), Gatorade (running hundreds of miles was exhausting and dehydrating like you wouldn't believe), and a stash of lighters (because what good was ripping apart a leech if you couldn't burn the pieces?)
He tugged on his shirt with one hand and walked towards the garage, finishing off a Gatorade in one gulp with his other hand. Looking around the lot next to the building, he saw there was a lot to be done this week, which was always good. More cars meant more business which meant more money. He could hear Embry tuning Sue's junker and Brady was working on a car he assumed was from town, he opened the door and felt their automatic impulse to gaze on their Alpha. That was one of the weirder things he still hadn't quite gotten used to, every time he walked into a room with another wolf, the wolf had to look at him until he acknowledged their presence, which normally wasn't a big deal until pack gatherings when he looked like his head was bobbing trying to placate all of the stares. He nodded to both of them and headed towards the office where Ayana, another pack member who handled the business side of the garage, was on the phone and typing up a quote.
"I understand that ma'm, but I'm not trying to swindle you. The part alone is $850 and it takes about 4-6 hours to install." She glanced up at Jake, who nodded imperceptibly and then furrowed his brows, gesturing to the phone, wondering who it was.
Ayana was the second female to phase after Leah, but unlike Leah, was welcomed gladly into the pack. She had grown up with a lot of the guys and she was one of Brady's best friends.
Ayana rolled her eyes and mouthed "Mrs. Newton" before returning to her phone call and adding, "Of course you can call around…that's no problem. We'll be here if you change your mind. Yeah, alright, have a great day." Ayana hung up the phone and looked to Jacob, "That woman, I swear. Wants a new head gasket installed for $500. Please."
Jake looked around the desk, seeing which car to work on first. "She'll call back, Tony's will charge her at least $1900. Call around the scrap yards, there's always decent ones, see if we can't get it closer to her price range but tell her to bring her cheesecake for labor cost, I'll do it but it'll be a few days at least."
"Got it, chief. Oh, here's a list of messages you've already gotten this morning." Ayana handed him a list of numbers and names that instantly gave him a headache. "Say, why don't I call all the junk yards back and you can just take care of the personal ones?" She said, to which Jacob was immensely grateful. It was almost like she could read minds sometimes. Jacob gave her a thankful look and headed out to the garage.
Fixing cars, to Jacob, just made sense. Everything had a home, everything had a purpose, everything did its part to make the whole thing run. With his exceptional hearing, he was able to stand above the car, lean in, and almost immediately be able to tell what was wrong with it. It was his way of escaping the constant stress of his life. He could just dive into a car, fix it, and send it on it's way, leaving him feeling a little bit more accomplished. It was both his outlet and his therapy and he was damn glad it paid the bills.
Getting lost in the machines, he didn't even realize it was noon until Ayana shouted through the small window, "Mrs. Newton promised two cheesecakes and also I got us all pizza." Jacob wiped his hands on the rag draped on the car and stretched his back. His wolf was itching to run again and it had only been a few hours, Jacob wondered whether he would ever get a reprieve.
He rolled an entire pizza into a burrito and ate it quickly, not bothering to even breathe before doing the same with another whole pizza. "You could at least try to taste it" Embry joked, doing the same but taking bites from his burrito instead of inhaling it.
Jacob just shrugged and looked at the wall clock, "I'm gonna go check patrols, I'll be back in a bit." He said to the room, who all were still staring at him. Shit. He nodded towards each of them then walked out of the room, peeling his shirt off and hanging it alongside the dirty rag strewn across the car.
He had try to test what would happen if he didn't acknowledge someone and poor Collin had followed him around for 2 hours like a lost little puppy before Jacob finally caved. From what he could tell, they didn't even realize they were doing it. He didn't understand it, but there wasn't much about the whole wolf situation that made much sense anyways.
He took off his shorts, putting them back in the crate and jumped into the shift. There was just one mind he could feel, Michael.
"Hey. Anything going on?" Jake asked, running towards the beach, his wolf needed to run, and run he would.
"Honestly, no. I even thought about doing the park again but Quil said you did it earlier. There's hardly any hikers out either with the weather being so shitty." Michael said. Michael was the newest shifter but even he had shifted 4 years prior. He had never encountered a vampire but he was fast as hell and Jacob had confidence in him to get the job done if one ever did come around. Big emphasis on the if.
"Well, I have a half hour to kill, want to race to the park? I need to run." Jacob asked and he could feel Michael's excitement. "Look around you so I know where you're at and I'll catch up to ya."
Seeing through Michael's vision, he could spot the Bridgeman's trail to his right and that weird tree with the knob that looked like a face up ahead. "I'll give you a 3 second head start. On my mark…" Jacob said, running towards the wolf's figure up ahead before giving a small yelp. The wolf took off but Jacob caught up quickly and they were racing side by side, each giving it their all, thankful to have something to put all that pent-up energy towards.
As they came closer to the park's edge, Jacob pushed himself harder. Sure, he was a nice guy but an Alpha wolf doesn't lose to anyone. His wolf rose to the challenge and he could feel his paws digging in deeper with each step, using the ground to propel himself forward, faster and faster, crossing the invisible line first.
"Damn!" Michael shouted in his mind. "That was close, I thought I might actually have a chance that time." He laughed. Jacob's wolf just nudged up against Michael's in show of solidarity.
"Alright, I'm gonna head back to the garage, howl if you need anything." Jacob thought, trotting in the direction of the rez. As he ran back, he could see Michael replaying the race in his head, looking for ways to improve. "Hey Michael, try to focus on the patrolling part of the patrol shift." Jacob taunted. Michael immediately refocused and put his snout to the ground, sniffing for any new scents.
The rest of the week passed in pretty much the same way, until Thursday night when Kyra asked for a favor. "I wanna do somethin' nice for Ms. Delahunt 'cause she's so nice to us."
Jacob looked up from his dinner plate to his daughter, who was staring thoughtfully at the ceiling. He felt proud in that moment, thinking maybe he didn't raise her all that wrong. "What were you thinking?" He asked, shoving another forkful of chicken into his mouth.
"What abouttttt….a kitty?!" Kyra asked, eyes glinting with excitement. Jacob laughed and shook his head.
"Maybe something not so extreme, little one. A kitty requires a lot of work and we don't know if she wants to take care of one. Or if she's allergic." He added, wondering if she was in fact, allergic.
"Umm, what about a fish?" Kyra hedged.
"That's definitely less extreme but let's get away from the animals. What else could we get her?" Jacob asked when an idea presented itself from a conversation earlier in the week. "What if we got her a little plant like she got everyone else?" He asked his daughter, leaning forward.
Kyra gasped and shouted, "Yes! We can get her a little flower plant and I'll decorate it and then we can surprise her and then she'll be so happy just like us!"
"Perfect, I'll stop by the garden store in Forks while you're at school tomorrow and pick one up for her, and you can make her a nice card and we can give it to her after school, sound good?" Jacob was racking his brain trying to remember what that plant was called. War Agant? Wax Something? He remembered she said something about it looking like a pink flower, so he'd figure it out.
The next morning, Jacob had to remind Kyra 4 times on the way to school that the point of a surprise was to not tell the person about the surprise. "I know Daddy I'm just so EXCITED." She said again, bouncing in her seat. He would be genuinely surprised if his daughter was able to hold it together until the end of the day.
"You made the card, yeah?" Jacob asked, pulling into the school. Kyra nodded and pulled it out of her backpack, handing it to Jacob. His heart stuttered through its next beat when he saw what she had drawn.
It was like the wolf drawing she had done a few days ago but there was Sydney on the right, Kyra in the middle and Jacob on the left, all holding each other's hands so they were all connected and they were standing in front of the school with the trees bordering the outer edges of the picture. She had the most interesting way of drawing, using only straight lines but damn, this picture was incredible and he wasn't just saying that because he had to.
"Baby, this is incredible. It's going to make her very happy." Jacob finally managed to say. "I'll see you after school, okay? Remember…"
"A surprise is only a surprise if you don't tell them it's a surprise. I know!" She squeaked, turning towards the school. Jacob laughed and put the truck in reverse, his eyes getting drawn to the picture again and again as he drove. It hit him as he pulled into the store that they looked like a little family, and he didn't know whether the guilt of not being able to offer Kyra a family was outweighing his hope that it may happen someday.
He asked the woman at the cash register for help and managed to find a small plant that looked like a pink flower. "Wax Agaves are incredible little plants, so beautiful and vibrant." She said. Wax Agave…that's what it was.
As Jacob drove to the school, he heard a short yip from the woods, a wolf asking for help. Jacob pulled off to the side of the road as quickly as he could and peeled off his clothes.
"Yeah?" Jacob thought quickly, his wolf ready to destroy whatever was happening.
"Oh shit, sorry Jake. We were wrestling and he got me in a tight spot. How did you even hear that- my bad." Collin said, his thoughts frantic and regretful. Jacob sighed and let his annoyance filter through to both of the wolves.
"You're covering one of my shifts next week. Both of you." He said, trying to tame the adrenaline that was pumping through his veins. He heard disgruntled but submissive grunts from both of them. Jacob knew he would still run those shifts with them, but it was more the principle. "I'll see you tomorrow at Sam's." He said finally, and phased back, grabbing his clothes.
As he pulled into the parking lot, he found Sydney's car and parked alongside it, waiting for his little Kyra to come out. She did a few minutes later and her smile was so bright, it made Jacob's heart clench. He didn't know if he could love anything else in existence as much as he loved that little girl. He picked her up easily and threw her lightly into the air, her giggles swirling in the air around them.
"How was your day at school?" He asked, placing her back down on the ground as she shoved her hair out of her face. She beamed and just started rattling on about her day at a break neck speed. Jacob was genuinely impressed that she was able to talk as fast as she was.
Jacob heard the front door to the school open and close and he looked up to see Sydney walking towards them, her head down. He watched as her hair bounced slightly as she walked and as her brow furrowed in confusion before looking up to catch the sight of him and Kyra.
"Well hello again. What's this about?" She asked them. Jacob could feel Kyra's buzzing energy next to him and as he looked down, he laughed, she looked like she was about to explode. He grabbed the little plant from the back of the truck where he had placed it a few minutes prior and held it in his hands. "We thought since you gave everyone else their own plants, you should…" Jacob started but was cut off by his daughter shrieking.
"WE GOT YOU A AGRAVE PLANT LIKE YOU USED TO HAVE." Kyra practically screamed at the poor woman. He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Well, there was supposed to be a whole speech about thanking you for all you're doing, but, in so many words, we got you an agave plant, like you used to have." Jacob said, mostly to Kyra. Jacob looked up to Sydney's face which was a mask of pure shock.
"This is…you didn't…wow, thank you so much." She said then, taking the plant from Jacob's hands.
"Do you like it?!" Kyra yelled again to which Sydney just laughed. "I love it. Thank you, Kyra." Kyra took the small pot from Jacob's hand but he was so focused on Sydney. She finally glanced up at him with a smile that looked beautiful on her.
"So, we'll see you tomorrow?" He asked, trying to contain his hopefulness. Sydney replied with, "Oh, most definitely."
"Daddy! My card!" Kyra said, breaking Jacob's stare. Oh yeah, shit. He reached into the truck and pulled out the little card that Kyra had spent so much time on and handed it to Kyra. She nodded purposefully at him and then turned to Sydney, "This is from me." She said proudly and handed it to Sydney who looked at the picture in a way that perfectly explained how Jacob had felt earlier.
"Wow…you guys…this is too much. You didn't have to do any of this, but thank you." She said, not taking her eyes from the picture. Jacob nudged his daughter who threw her arms around Sydney's knees which surprised her.
"We'll let you get home and we'll see you tomorrow. You have the address?" Jacob asked, picking up his daughter and placing her in the truck. Sydney nodded. "We usually get there around 11 so feel free to come anytime around then." He added.
"Sounds good, and Jacob? Thank you. Seriously." Sydney said, looking him right in the eyes and it made him smile.
"Until tomorrow, then." He said lamely, walking around the truck to the driver's side and started the engine. He waited until she climbed into her SUV before he put the truck in reverse to get out of the parking lot. "I think she liked it, little one." Jacob said to his daughter who was kicking her feet in time to the song on the radio, nodding her agreement.
After such a great afternoon, the rest of the night brought more than Jacob had bargained for.
"I know it's been a while but I haven't forgotten that stink." Sam said to Jacob. "It's near the East end of the park but it's in a 'ways." Jacob let out two howls, alerting the pack that they needed more reinforcements.
"I'm gonna put two more on the trail and we'll keep up this formation until we figure out who it is and why they're so close." Jacob thought as Embry and Paul phased in.
"Seriously?! It's been years, why now?" Paul snarled. "I'm gonna take the easternmost flank if you'll get the west, Embry."
"If you see it, kill it, no questions asked, we have kids to think about now." Jacob commanded through the pack mind and he could feel the protectiveness surging through all of them. They were formed to protect, to keep safe. "Seth, I need you to get Kyra to Emily's, is Em awake?"
"Yeah, Kenai's still awake so Emily is too." Seth responded. He watched through Seth's eyes as he ran to Jacob's home and got Kyra from her bedroom. "Hey little one, we're gonna go to Aunt Emily's house for a sleepover, okay?" Kyra just nodded and held her arms out for Seth to pick her up. He hitched her onto his side and ran out the front door, pausing only to place her safely on the porch before phasing back into his wolf. Kyra jumped onto his back and he waited until she had secured herself before taking off.
"Anything?" Jacob asked while he ran. He could feel 8 wolves phased in now plus himself. It took them a long time to figure out, but they were able to control their thoughts much more and instead of having 12 rambling minds going at once, it was relatively quiet. They were able to separate their own, private thoughts and the thoughts they needed to share with the pack which made life so much easier for everyone involved. Only Jacob was able to feel the emotions of the rest of the pack, no one else seemed to be able to, and it came in handy more times than he would care to admit.
"We got the trail, following it now, it looks like they're running parallel to us coming from the south." Embry reported. Seth had made it to Emily's and Jacob watched as Kyra closed the front door behind her.
"It's two of them." Paul added. Jacob could feel the anticipation and excitement from the newer wolves, it was their first real hunt. Seth had stayed behind to keep an eye on La Push but the rest of the wolves were in formation now, Jacob could smell the putrid stench as if he were right next to the damn things.
"I want this done as quickly as possible." Jacob was not in the mood to play with his food tonight. He could see them now, one male and one female. The male was tall and blonde and the female was small and had long brown hair…like Bella's. Jacob quickly dismissed the thought and pushed forward. They were all within striking range now, with Paul and Embry on the right, the younger wolves led by Jacob behind the pair, and Sam and Quil on the left. "NOW." He commanded and they all attacked.
To give them credit, the leeches thought ahead and had obviously been planning to jump to escape them but they jumped off just a tad bit too late, the wolves were already in motion. Ayana struck the female first, ripping her arm from her body with a grating shriek and a deafening sound of metal being torn. Jake had the male's shoulder in his mouth when he jerked hard and tore it from the rest of his body. Paul, never one to miss out on a fight, ripped the males head from his shoulders quickly and gruesomely with, what looked like a feral smile on his wolf's lips. The pack made quick work of the pair.
"Brady, phase and start collecting and burning." Jacob bellowed. He immediately felt Brady leave the pack mind and he saw his naked form grab a lighter from the leather pouch on the back of his leg. He started piling pieces together and lit the flame quickly, much to Jacob's approval.
Jacob did a quick mental check on everyone, seeing how everyone was handling it. Ayana was flourishing, her wolf loving the thrill of the kill. Michael was proud but disappointed he hadn't really gotten a got bite out of either of them. Collin was disgusted with the smell but good. His original pack members…well, they were a shit storm.
Everyone was worried about their imprints, worried about their kids, worried about La Push, about what it meant that they had come back after so long. Listening to each of them was giving Jacob a headache, their incessant worry bleeding into his subconscious.
"Everyone that's here, phase and let's burn these mother fuckers." He commanded, wanting just a half second to compose his thoughts before he had to quell everyone's fears. He could hear the claps on the backs, the high fives and the cheering but had closed his eyes, composing the speech he was about to give. He urged his human shape to the forefront and phased back, standing with his pack as they picked up pieces and threw them into the growing purple plume.
"Everyone good?" He asked and everyone nodded. "I know you're worried about what this means for the tribe but we'll just keep up patrols like we have been and double up if we feel like we need it but we know we can handle it."
"Pfft, especially with 12 of us. Half of us will have to sit out on the fun because we'll start biting each other at this rate." Paul added cockily, throwing a marble-looking hand into the fire. Jacob nodded once but kept his gaze fixed on the fire.
"You all did great. Especially Ayana, Michael, Collin and Brady, congrats on your first kill." He said, turning towards the four. They all looked up at Jacob and he nodded once to each of them, looking them in the eye.
"Well, let's fucking celebrate." Embry shouted and everyone laughed, the rigidness of the situation falling away.
"Isn't that what tomorrow's for, moron?" Quil joked, shoving Embry. Jacob felt like they were 16 again, chasing bloodsuckers and acting like idiots, it felt…good.
"I'll go back to La Push and catch Seth up. No celebrating without me, though." Ayana said, throwing a small piece of cloth into the dying fire then turning back towards home.
"Ready, chief?" Sam asked, clapping Jacob on the back as the embers burned off quickly before them. Jacob turned back towards the rez and jumped into the shift, wanting nothing more than to run. He was proud of his pack. They had taken down two leeches and for 4 of them, it was their first kill. Not bad.
"Kyra's passed out in the guest room, she's welcome to stay here until tomorrow if you want to go home and have the house to yourself for a night." Emily said as he walked into their kitchen. It was a nice offer but he needed to be near his daughter right now, especially after what had just gone down.
"I'll just take her home. She probably won't even notice, she sleeps so damn hard." Jacob laughed, lifting Kyra into his arms and added, "I'll see you in the morning, Em, thanks for keeping an eye on her." He walked back home on two legs, wanting to get some fresh air and to feel the crisp night on his skin.
Jacob slept well that night, his wolf felt settled for the first time in years and he was genuinely surprised when he woke up to Kyra jumping on his bed laughing. "Good morning daddy!" She said and Jacob rolled over and grabbed her by the sides, tickling her.
She was shrieking with laughter when he heard his cell ring. He put her on the ground and told her to get cereal started, answering his phone.
"Hey man, Kyra's teacher is here and is obviously looking for you. Where are you?" Quil asked over the phone.
"Shit, I slept in. We'll be over soon." Jacob said. What time was it? The sun was up, so past 7:30. I couldn't be that late though… He clicked the call off and looked at the clock. 10:45am. He jumped out of bed. "Little one! Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" He yelled to the other room, pulling his hair into a braid and throwing a shirt over his head.
"Uncle Seth said to let you sleep until the clock said one zero zero zero. But then my tv show came on and I forgot." She said, completely invested in her cereal. They finished their late breakfast quickly and drove over to Sam and Emily's. Most of the pack was already there, and he could feel all of the subconscious glances his way. He acknowledged everyone he could while trying to look for Sydney.
He found her in the kitchen with Kim and Emily, laughing as she brushed a strand of hair out of her face with the back of her hand, getting a line of flour on her cheek.
"They've already put you to work?" He asked, peering over their shoulders to see what they were making.
"Hey, she offered, I will never turn down free help." Emily said, waving a rolling pin in Jake's face. Sydney merely shrugged and laughed. "I don't mind and it's a lot of fun."
Jacob was standing in front of Sydney now, with Kim and Emily behind her. She wasn't as short as Emily and Kim, which Jacob appreciated, they always seemed so tiny. Sydney was probably 5'7" compared to Jacob's 6'7" which was much more manageable than girls he used to see.
He reached down and gently wiped the flour from her cheek, smiling softly. "You had saved a little somethin' for later." He joked and she blushed, the red coloring her cheeks and chest and it took everything in his power to not stare.
"Not the best way to make first impressions, I suppose?" She teased, looking up at him. Jacob couldn't help himself and drew her in for a hug to which she stiffened in surprise.
"Welcome to the group." He said into the top of her head. She relaxed and wrapped her arms around his torso, mumbling a thank you into his chest.
"Okay, well if you're done stealing all of her attention, we have pies to make, so shoo." Kim said with her fists resting on her hips.
"Sure sure." He said with a smile plastered on his face.
A/N: This will be the last Jacob's POV for a while, I want to focus on Sydney's story and how she navigates through the rest of the story! Hope you're enjoying it as much as I'm enjoying writing it! Also, thank you so much for the reviews!
