Hey all :) I just wanted to thank everyone who's reading this for your reviews, I like to see them. If you have any questions then don't hesitate to ask please. – Nikki – (Oh, and this chapter is one of my favorites).
Yesterday's events hadn't quite caught up with my body yet, and for that I was thankful, so I was able to patrol at night with the rest of the pack. After running for about an hour a few miles away from my house I stopped to get a drink and relax. Laying on my back I stretched out, rolling from side to side in the grass. It felt good brushing against my fur, soft texture poking my skin. I stared up at the sky, counting stars in my head, paws facing my chest. A sudden rustle in the bushes nearby caught my attention, my ear flicking in its direction. Two small brown rabbits started to hop out and towards the stream which I was currently on the opposite side of. My tail started to wag slowly, eyes locked on their dark forms. Shifting to crouch on all fours I studied the creatures, seeing how they took a drink then ran their delicate paws over their constantly moving noses. I was surprised they didn't see me, seeing as how a giant russet colored wolf was right there staring. I moved tiny inches closer to the waters edge, not wanting to startle them just yet. The lean yet muscular looking one, presumably the male, was my target for dinner. As soon as the female hopped toward a berry thicket, leaving the other unprotected, I launched at him. In one startled hop he lept away with me hot on his heels. For a tiny animal he sure could run, that's what they were built for afterall, and it was a little hard for me to keep up while trying not to run into any trees.
In and out we weaved - splashing through puddles, racing through brush piles, jumping over log after log - it was such a thrill. My tongue was partially hanging as I sped up, like a dog that had its head out of a car window, and I was oh so close to catching him. Out of nowhere he ran to the right, to which I had to skid to a stop before heading that way as well, and started to duck in and out of some bushes with bright colored flowers. As soon as I was in them I yelped in pain, jumping out the side as soon as I could. Thorns were sticking out of my body, blood dripping down onto the ground in steady little rivulets. 'That sneaky little bastard!' I yelled inside my head, painfully pulling the ones out of my side with my fangs. After that I moved to the ones on my face, leaning down on my front legs and pawing at my muzzle. One by one the painful, offending thorns came out and were dropped. Wiggling my nose some I made sure that I could still smell after that onslaught of hurt.
I started to move slowly, scanning the woods for that annoying bunny, but so far it seemed he was gone. That was a clever trick, I'd give him that much. Since he made me suffer it looked like I would have to offer some pay back. Stalking close to the ground to stay mostly out of sight I looked from left to right every step, begging my eyes to find his little brown body so I could tear it to shreds. My ears flicked straight up as I heard that familiar rustling about a mile ahead, in the tall trees that led to a small meadow. Crouching so low that it seemed I was one with the ground I gave my tail a few shakes before jumping, fangs beared, toward the area of the noise. My body collided with something stony and hard as me and whatever I ran into went tumbling into the clearing. I managed to pin it but my growling ceased as I looked down, locking eyes with none other than Emmett Cullen. Quickly I ran off, far to the side near the trees once more, and watched him as he got up and brushed himself off.
"Jake. Long time no see" he said casually, as if I hadn't just football tackled him. I walked a forward once more, not daring to fully leave the cover of shadows, in fear this might just be an act and he was really hunting. His repulsive scent was all too familiar and it made my stomach churn. I nodded, which I think he saw because he only smirked.
"You haven't changed too much. Still seem like the hotheaded boy I remember."
Was he insulting me? I let out a small warning growl, coming fully out of the shadows. "Relax" Emmett commanded, putting his hands up in surrender. There was a flash of yellow to my right and one of silver to my left, which turned out to be the snot-nose Rosalie Hale and whatever her pixie faced name was. Rosalie seemed disgusted to see me – the feeling was all but mutual – and we had a glaring match for a few seconds more before two more Cullens appeared. Carlisle and that nice lady, the mom and the dad, were the last to show up, taking their place beside everyone else. Carlisle gave me a bright smile, seeming pleased about something, and walked toward me.
"Hello, Jacob" he started, squatting down to be face level with me, "I'm glad we ran into you."
"Actually, he ran into me" Emmett stated, laughing his deep laugh afterward. I heard Rosalie mumble a "Now you need a bath" before all was silent once again. I looked up at Carlisle, wondering just what he had planned.
"We have sort of a dilemma" the polite mother, Esme if I remembered correctly, interjected. I shifted back to human form, staying crouched since I was – well – naked.
"Why?" I asked, honestly curious. Carlisle stood; seeing I was a human now and we could have a normal conversation.
Esme smiled and went to his side, her sweet scent of vanilla and sandalwood mixing in with everything else, giving a reassuring aura to the unexpected meeting.
"Wait, aren't you missing some people?" It wasn't a question, more of a statement, as I looked through them all, only counting five of the seven.
"Yes, that's what we came to talk to you about" Carlisle responded, holding Esme's small hand. "Something's wrong with Edward and Jasper, and we can't figure out what."
So Mr. High and Mighty Vampire Boy was having troubles? That was great news to me and I openly chuckled a little bit.
"What is it? Edward lose his sex appeal?" I joked, instantly seeing it wasn't appreciated except with the little fairyland girl. She glanced at me constantly, probably trying to see my future or whatever her special power was, but I knew it wouldn't work. The vampires' powers couldn't affect werewolves, and to that I was overly grateful.
"No, that's not it. The other day Edward was out and didn't come home for a few days. We got worried that maybe something happened since Alice couldn't see his future anymore, and she still can't. Jasper had sensed so much negativity from him that he started to get ill, which is rare for our kind as you know. And when Edward did return he was angry and seemed to be in pain. So neither of them are as they should be, mentally of course, and that's why I was joyed that you happened to come at just the right time."
So Jasper, the 'sensitive' one, was sick because Edward was having killer mood swings? It was pretty funny but I knew if I laughed they'd get even more upset and, as much as I despised most of them, I wanted to keep a friend-friend relationship with the Cullen family.
"What can I do to help?" I asked, trying to sound eager and willing when in reality I wanted to go home and sleep.
"Alice can't see your future either, Jacob, and it's strange that now Edward has become pretty much invisible to her. We were wondering if you and he had any connection, perhaps." Esme kindly assumed, hoping to find some positive answers in my reply. As I knew, there were none, and I answered truthfully.
"Hate to break it to you, but the only 'connection' we have is that we both want to rip each others throats out. There's nothing more and nothing less."
As I was about to turn around, shift, and go home I felt a sturdy hand on my shoulder, the cold touch instantly sending a shiver down my spine. Carlisle had a desperate look in his usually cool and collected eyes and I felt a pang of pity.
Sighing, I faced everyone once more, not giving a damn about my obvious nudity. "So what do you want me to do about it?"
Their faces seemed to perk up as Esme answered, "Please, come with us. Only you'll be able to do this."
The pleading tone in her eyes had me walking alongside them in under a few seconds, I think I had a soft spot for her since I didn't have a mother of my own, and I was strongly hoping that my decision wasn't going to be regretted. The silver Volvo we got into no doubt belonged to Edward and there was barely any leg room as we crammed ourselves into the back, giving Esme and Carlisle plenty of space in the front seats. Rosalie and I, forced to sit next to each other, tried to scoot farther and farther away as the minutes passed. It was beyond awkward sitting on the leather seats butt-naked but I'd just have to deal with it for the time being.
"We'll get you some clothes at the house, dear" Esme said, smiling back at me before focusing her attention on the road once more as Carlisle took a turn onto a highway that led out of Forks. If we were leaving the town then that meant Sam and the pack would be looking for me. Great, just something to make them more pissed off then they already were about the other day. I stared at the back of her head for another few seconds, wondering if she too had mind reading abilities, before looking out the window on my side. Street lamps were shining brightly, illuminating the long road ahead.
It was about another thirty minutes of being stuffed like sardines in the back of the car before Carlisle pulled off an exit ramp and toward another clump of forest area. What was it with this family and them living so damn far away from society? The twisty, dark road finally came to an end in front of a large, brick house. It was two floors, as the other one was, and from what I saw – a little fancier. There was a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling inside the, what I assumed, living room and the large bay window in the front gave my eyes perfect access. I saw the same furniture from the other place, all arranged in practically the same order. We all clambered out of the vehicle quickly; I was glad to get my arm off of Rosalie's gross, ice cold one. The chilly breeze had no affect on me as my skin burned at about one hundred and thirty degrees from being closed in for so long. If we wouldn't have gotten out of that car then I was sure I might have melted all the vampires like they were popsicles. That thought made me laugh inside, and I started to think of what flavors they'd have hidden inside as we walked up the large front steps. Emmett would be Grape, Esme would be Strawberry, Carlisle well, he'd probably be Raspberry, Alice – she'd be peach, and Rosalie…definitely shit; no doubt the one that's at the very bottom of the box.
Emmett looked back at me with a confused glance at my chuckling, but I didn't look up to face him, to absorbed in my fantasy. It didn't even seem weird that I was walking directly into my enemies' house, at the dead of night, and with no clothes on. Speaking of clothes, Carlisle was inside and back out with a button down shirt and shorts in no time flat, which earned him a couple strange looks.
"Jacob, there's two bathrooms upstairs if you want to go change. Come down after you're done, we have some things to discuss."
The warm smile he gave before they all walked into the dining room made me feel a little more confident that they didn't feel like eating me, but I was still wary. I chose a rather large bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub, diamond sink, fancy flooring, and a large lamp in the corner. It smelled like pomegranate and flowers, which my nostrils were happy for since I would have to smell nothing but vampire for the next few days. The shirt and shorts I was handed fit, which was surprising, because I barely fit into my own clothes. Walking out of the bathroom I looked down at the light coming from the closed dining room door, then back up to the rooms on my level. Deciding to explore a tiny bit, discreetly of course, I walked silently over to one of the locked doors on the left. Inside were a washer and dryer with a bunch of clothes in baskets around them. I closed that door slowly and moved to the next one. It had a large king sized bed in the middle, a window that served as a door that led to a balcony, there was a bathroom attached at the far right, and a bunch more expensive looking furniture.
At the last door I opened it, seeing nothing but black when I walked in. My hands deftly searched the wall for a light switch and, upon finding one, flicked it on to fill the room with color. Inside was a plasma screen TV hanging on the wall in front of a well sized bed, a stereo with about a million CD's around it on the opposite wall, and books littered all over the floor. I carefully stepped over the pieces of paper, not wanting to alert any of the family that I was snooping around their fancy house, and counted the authors as I made my way to the only window wall in that room. "Shakespeare…Steven King…more Shakespeare…Edgar Allan Poe…Joel Goldman…John Miller…yet another Shakespeare…" I decided that whoever had this room really liked neoclassical poetry. Upon reaching the wall I looked out, across the gloomy forest, almost being able to feel the wet heat from outside. A little of my reflection came into view as my eyes focused on the window instead of the trees, and I moved side to side, making it follow. My childish behavior was cut short as a figure appeared in the reflection beside me.
"What are you doing in here?!" a quiet voice hissed out. I turned with haste, staring into the face of Edward Cullen. My mood changed from fear to anger as I realized whose room this was.
"Well you're the genius who left the door unlocked. But hey, now I know what a giant pansy you are, reading all that poetry. Is Mr. Emotional having a hard time?" I mocked, doing a joking motherly voice at the end. There was an ice cold hand clenched around my throat as soon as the last word escaped my mouth, and Edward was growling in my ear.
"Get out before you regret it" he whispered, emphasizing that statement with a harsh squeeze. I could feel my air coming in shorter amounts and lifted my leg to kick him off. He went flying across the room, flipping and landing on his feet, only knocking over a desk and a lamp.
"Touch me again you walking autopsy and I rip your head off" I barked out, glaring daggers into his eyes. We stood there, each taking a fighting stance, before Carlisle bursting through the door stopped us in our tracks.
"What is going on in here?" he demanded, putting a hand on my shoulder.
Edward turned away, seeming more agitated by the second, "He came into my room without permission and I told him, in the most polite way possible, that I don't want my room smelling like a dirty animal. That's all."
Roaring, I tried to lunge right at him but Carlisle's hand pushed back and kept me firmly in place. He sure was strong for a vampire. I could tell Edward was smirking even though his back was to us. My nerves were at their end so, instead of starting another fight and getting eaten for real, I stomped past the family and out of the room.
"Jacob, where are you going?" Esme asked, going after me.
"Away where he belongs" Edward answered for me, seeming entertained by the whole situation. I snarled at him viciously and reached for the front door knob.
"Please, don't go" Carlisle begged. I felt bad letting the doc down but I just couldn't help it. If I stayed to try anything then there would be two funerals in at least a week tops. What should I do? If I stayed to fix things, they'd probably end up worse. Yet if I left now and never came back I'd lose not only the families trust but the little bit of respect that came with our treaty. My feelings were raging, humiliation and anger mixing deep in my veins, as I faced them again.
"Fine." That was the only word to come out of my mouth and there was a long sigh of relief from the parents. I glanced up at Edward just in time to see his eyes darken as he stormed off, slamming his bedroom door hard. I hung my head low and made my way into the dining room, taking a seat at one of the many chairs to have a long talk with all the family, excluding the moody one, which went on all night long. I learned more about them in those hours than I ever had in my entire life, and suddenly they seemed like less of an enemy.