"I hate Bonding. I hate it. I hate it, I hate it! What did I ever do to deserve this? I'm a good person, Lord, I swear. I mean, there was that time with the substitute teacher and it wasn't like I meant to make the babysitter cry! But other than that I really am a good sister and a good daughter, honest!"
"Chris! Stop hitting your head!"
"Yeah! You don't have enough brain cells left to risk losin' the ones ya got."
Two pairs of hands grabbed me and pulled me away from the wall that was starting to get a dent from me banging my head against it. I rubbed my forehead as I let Clara and Melody drag me away from the wall. My life was truly sucking right now.
Rejected.
The word rang in my head, echoing in my brain like my head was a bell and I was inside it.
I had been rejected. By my bondmate, who, as it turns out had done something on me called Imprinting which is basically the same thing as Bonding, was somehow resisting the pull and had convinced himself he was meant to be with Bella, Edward's Singer. Man I hate that girl. So whiney. So annoying. So freaking perfect.
I hate perfect. There's nothing interesting about perfection. Even the Cullens weren't perfect; they each had their own little idiosyncrasies. But Bella Swan? She made me want to scream.
I wrenched myself out of Melody and Clara's grasps and threw myself onto my bed. Tears stung my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I was Chris Tla-Da-Tsi Nightingale. I did not cry over some stupid boy twice; once was enough. But no matter how many times I ordered myself not to cry the traitorous tears still began rolling down my cheeks again. I squeezed my eye shut and buried my head in my pillow, wrapping my arms around it and hugging it tight to my chest. I felt the bed sink on either side of me as Melody and Clara lay down beside me and wrapped their arms around me.
We lay like that for a very long time, me trying to hide my tears and them offering silent comfort and warmth. Finally my eyes dried and I sniffed, pulling my head out of the pillow. My nose was runny and my eyes were sore and I didn't feel any better but my mind had been made up. I was done crying. My Bondmate didn't want me, which was fine. The Bond calls for my complete and utter devotion to him and there are other ways to be devoted to someone other than romantically. If Jacob Black didn't want me as a mate then I'm more than happy to be his friend like I was in the old days.
Besides. I didn't want to be his mate either.
Melody and Clara watched me cautiously as I sat up. I think they were afraid that I would start banging me head against the wall again. I didn't though. Instead, I got up off my bed and made my way to the bathroom we shared down the hall. It was a medium sized bathroom, a bathtub/shower, a toilet, a sink, a mirror, tile floor, wallpapered walls, white door. I splashed my face with cold water from the sink. The water eased the soreness around my eyes. In the mirror above the sink my reflection stared back at me.
My copper eyes were bloodshot and swollen, framed by long, thick, dark lashes under plucked, arched eyebrows. Thick jet black hair hung down to my waist in waves around a round, blotchy face that was usually a smooth tan color with high cheekbones and semi-full lips that turn upwards ever so slightly at the corners, giving me a permanent small smile even when I'm sad. I guess I'm pretty. I'm not Melody with her supermodel beauty or Clara with her childlike adorableness but I'm not completely hideous either. I had a good body: a D cup chest, size 9 waist, flat stomach, long legs that lend themselves to my 5'10" height, clear skin, and an hourglass figure. I could definitely rock a bikini and I'm usually a medium in pretty much everything. There is nothing for me to be ashamed of physically and I love my personality (easy-going, fun-loving, friendly, and loyal to hell and back) so, in reality, it was all Jacob's loss. There was absolutely nothing wrong with me and if Jacob didn't want me then that was his mistake.
I straightened up and tossed my sheet of black hair over my shoulder, feeling insurmountably better. Now, don't think that I'm shallow or anything just because I think I own it. What girl doesn't give herself a pep talk to boost the self-esteem after being rejected? Yeah, that's what I thought.
"Hey, Chris?"
I wiped my eyes as I reached for the doorknob. "Yeah?" I asked as I opened the door.
Melody and Clara stood on the other side. They looked worried. "Do you think you'd be up to going out tonight?" Melody asked nervously.
"Alice said there's a couple under twenty-one clubs in Port Angeles," Clara added.
A wide smile bloomed on my face, only half forced. It was barely 8 o'clock. An hour to get dressed, an hour and a half to drive to Port Angeles, thirty minutes to find a suitable club and it'd be 11 when we hit the dance floor, plenty of time to dance the night away. What better way to get my self-esteem back than to go to a club and make a whole bunch of random guys drool? And I know I can make them drool. My sister and cousin truly are girls after my own heart. "That's a great idea! But let's call Leah and see if she wants to come with us. I can't imagine her getting many GNOs with all those boys always hanging around."
Thirty minutes later and Leah was up in my room and all four of us were going through my closet to find clothes for Leah and I to wear. Mel and Clara were already dressed (tight blue mini dress and 4-inch black platform heels for Mel that made her look like she belonged on the cover of a magazine; black skinny jeans and a purple tube top with silver peep-toe pumps for Clara) but they hadn't done their hair or make up yet. Instead they were helping me convince Leah to wear something at least a little slutty. It wasn't like the girl couldn't take care of herself if a guy tried anything so none of us really understood her refusal.
"Come on, Leah." Clara begged as she held up a black and silver mini-dress. "You'd look great in this dress!"
Leah looked at CJ like my cousin was crazy. "That's not a dress that's a shirt!"
I tried not to laugh. Clara shrugged and tossed it over her shoulder onto the ever-growing pile of club couture. The next thing she pulled out was a blood red mini-dress that had slashed going down the back. I snagged it from her before she could offer it to Leah. "Mine!"
Leah snorted. "Good."
I slipped the dress on over matching lacy black bra and underwear, and bent to rummage around on the bottom of my closet looking for a pair of shoes. I came up with a pair of high top black converse. I slipped them on and started going through my jewelry box. Big silvery dangling earrings, a diamond cartilage stud, silver bangles for my left wrist and silver chain chocker—I was already wearing my belly button ring. While CJ and Mel were still busy trying to get Leah into something at least semi-slutty I went to the bathroom to hurry up and get my make up on and hair done before the mirror could be hogged by the others. I did my eyeliner in that newly fashionable winged/Egyptian look and my eyeshadow was smokey silver. I put on fake eyelashes that weren't too ridiculous, just right for going clubbing, a little blush and lip gloss. I grabbed my straightener (the one that looked like it had been painted with blue shatter nail polish) and considered my hair in the mirror. There were a myriad of ways I could wear it: down, up, ponytail, straightened, curled, the list went on and on. In the end I straightened it then did big loose curls on the ends and pulled it half up and half down with a whole bunch of hairspray to keep it that way.
By the time I was done I had been joined in the bathroom by Melody, Clara and Leah. They seemed to have finally all agreed on something too. Leah was wearing black tights and an aqua-green one shoulder top and black ankle boots with decorative zippers. They then proceeded to do their make-up—again Leah needed more prodding—and Clara did Leah's hair. By the time we were all done up to our's and each other's satisfaction the grandfather clock downstairs was striking the 9 o'clock hour.
We went downstairs and waved to Mom who was in the kitchen. I guess she got home sometime between Leah coming over and now. "Hey Mom. We're going to an Under 21 club!" I called to her as we passed. She only looked mildly concerned when she saw me but I was sure she knew that I needed this. It was how I worked. GNO's are a big part of my coping system and this wasn't the first time I'd gone out dancing with my sister and cousin since Clara got a fake ID that said she was seventeen—not that my mom knew about that part.
"Ok," she said. "Be careful. Melody, Clara, do you have your pepper spray with you?"
"Yes, Momma," Melody said.
"We also have our were-body guards," Clara added cheerfully.
"Promise to be back before sunrise," I said.
"You girls have fun," Mom called after us as Leah shut the door.
We were halfway to my truck when the wind shifted. Leah smelled it first. "Chris."
I looked back at her. She had gone stiff and had her nose pointed up to catch the breeze. I followed her lead and took in a deep breath. It smelled like the forest and something…tangy was the best word I could come up with to describe the scent. I frowned. "What is that?"
Leah shook her head. "I don't know."
Melody and Clara had already reached the truck. "Chris?" CJ called.
I glanced over at her. She looked worried. "Just a minute." I took another quick sniff. The smell was gone. "Huh. That's weird."
Leah nodded. "Yeah. But it didn't smell like leech. I don't know what it was."
"Me neither. Come on. It's gone now. We can worry about it later."
Leah shrugged. "I guess." Together we started walking again. When we reached the truck CJ and Melody were giving us weird looks.
"Is everything alright?" Melody asked.
Leah glanced at me. "Yeah, everything's fine," I said, sending Leah a very clear message to keep her mouth shut about the strange smell.
"It's all good," Leah mimicked my care free tone and we all got into the truck. As we drove out of our driveway I tried to put all of the insanity going on in my life out of my head. Tonight was my GNO and those stupid glowy eyes—yes I had seen the wolf the pack had sent to watch my house—were not going to ruin my night. And just because that strange smell wasn't wolf, judging by Leah's reaction to it, that didn't mean that I was going to have any less fun hanging out with my friends.
The South Side club in Port Angeles had a line out the door of eager teens just waiting for their turn to go in. I could hear the very loud base music even from outside and pulled out two pairs of earplugs, handing Leah one pair as I put in mine. Leah gave me a grateful look and quickly put in hers. The earplugs didn't really block out all sound but it sure did make it quieter. Now my hearing was about the same as Mel's and CJ's but that was better than my ear drums bursting, it was also a lot less painful.
Melody, looking like the runway model she could easily be, sauntered up to the bouncer, completely bypassing the line. She gave him a sexy smile. The guy looked completely dumbstruck. He didn't even ask for ID as he unclipped the velvet rope and let us pass. Melody tossed her hair over her shoulder and we followed her inside. I swear, getting guys to do whatever she wants them to do with only a smile is Melody's superpower and damn was it useful.
Inside, the club was loud and dark. A dance floor was at the center complete with multicolor strobe lights and it was full of teens gyrating and grinding to the music. Melody led us over to a round corner booth covered in dark velvet and we slid in, Melody, me, Clara and Leah. A blonde waitress dressed in a black mini-dress with the club's logo on her left boob came over and asked if we wanted anything. Melody ordered a Sprite, Leah and I asked for waters and Clara got a Diet Coke. After our drinks were served Melody took maybe all of five sips before jumping up. "Come on!" she yelled barely loud enough to be heard over the music. "Let's dance!"
Clara and Leah got up to join her but I declined. I didn't quite feel like dancing just yet. I wanted to sit and people watch from my shadowy corner for a little while first. Melody shrugged but headed to the dance floor after I assured them I would be alright by myself. I kept a close eye on them as they danced in their own circle. Now, I'm not lesbian or anything but they did look pretty damn good on the dance floor. They made a good, noticeable contrast with the rest of the crowd which pretty much consisted of really, really white people. Apparently these teens had never heard of sun, then again, not entirely surprising considering where they lived.
My friends had been on the dance floor for maybe all of ten minutes when I was finally spotted by some guy who decided to try his luck. He came over to me and smiled what he probably thought was a sexy smile at me. "Hey," he said.
I glanced at him. Brown hair that flopped slightly into his eyes, pale skin, brown eyes. Nothing really all that remarkable about him. He was muscled for a human, probably some sort of athlete, but by my standards—which are pretty skewed because of my were-associations—he was on the scrawny side. I looked away. "Hi."
He leaned on the edge of my booth. "So," he said, "you here by yourself?"
I didn't look at him, instead keeping my eye on the dance floor. "No." Short and sweet. Maybe he'd take the hint and walk away.
"Oh."He paused. "Where's your date?"
I frowned and looked at him. "I'm sorry but I'm not sure how that's any of your business."
He smirked. "So you don't have a date, huh?"
"I think," a voice growled from behind him, "that she said that wasn't any of your business." The guy whirled around. Standing behind him was over three hundred pounds of pissed off werewolf. His face went white...er.
"S-Sorry. Is she your date? I'll just be going." He fled.
"Dumbass," my 'rescuer' muttered, watching him go. He turned his smoldering brown eyes back to me.
I scooted out of the booth and stood. At that moment I wasn't very happy. That guy had been right to run, albeit for the wrong reason. If he had turned to look back at me I'm pretty sure he would have run even faster at my expression. "What exactly do you think you're doing here, Black?" I spat.
Jacob answered my glare with one of his own. "I should be asking you that," he growled. "What were you thinking leaving the Rez after losing control today? And dragging Clara and Melody with you?"
"Excuse me?! How dare you talk down to me! You're an asshole, Black. What makes you think you're better than me? You humiliate me! You degrade me! You act like I'm poison! Get over yourself. What the hell did I ever do to you, huh? Imprint or Bond with you or whatever? Please. You're pathetic! I can't believe you were once my best friend." I was so angry. So very angry. He made me want to scream! I tried to move around him. I had to get away from him. His very presence was toxic to me right now. I had come on this GNO to get away from him and here he was, ruining everything!
Jacob grabbed my bicep, almost squeezing hard enough to bruise, jerking me back. I would have stumbled if I was wearing heels. I hissed. "Let. Go. Of. Me."
"No. You're coming back to the reservation."
"I'm warning you, Black. Release me."
He didn't.
Fine. For the second time that night I found myself going on the attack. Before he could blink I grabbed his wrist and pressed my thumb nail into the tender space between the two veins on the inside of his wrist. I kept pressing until I drew blood and twisted his arm around until it was behind his back. He struggled but seemed unwilling to actually hurt me. I guess it was the imprint that stopped him. That was fine by me. I pushed him from me with enough force that he stumbled forward and almost fell to his knees.
Two big burly security guards had seen us grappling and stepped forward out of the woodwork. "Everything okay here?" the black one asked, coming to me. I nodded, trying for what felt like the millionth time in the past five hours to hold back tears. His partner, an equally big white man, went to Jacob. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
Jacob glared at me but said nothing. I buried me claws in my hand to try and distract myself from the hurt his angry gaze caused me. I pressed hard enough to draw blood but it worked, barely. Jacob growled unintelligibly but turned and stalked away.
As he disappeared into the crowd the fight went out of me and I suddenly felt limp and tired. The security guards made sure I was okay one more time before fading back into the background, leaving me to my own devices. I took a deep shuddering breath and looked around for my group. Leah and Clara were still dancing but Melody seemed to be talking to a large dark skinned guy in another booth. The two looked pretty cozy. I guess Jacob wasn't the only wolf who decided he needed to come and make sure we were okay.
I decided to leave them alone. Embry would take care of Mel if anything happened and no one would be stupid enough to try anything for fear of going up against him. The wolves exuded power and danger that even humans were able to sense. I turned instead to making my way toward Leah and Clara. They were towards the other side of the dance floor so I skirted around the edge. I needed to get my adrenaline and endorphins up so that I could at least semi-enjoy myself.
I was halfway to them when a pasty white boy who was absolutely gorgeous stepped into my path. He smiled at me, showing off perfect white teeth. He leaned towards me and whispered in my ear. "Wanna dance?" I took a deep breath. Sugar sweet with a hint a bleach. Great. I just had to find a vampire, didn't I? The Spirits sure do hate me for some freaking reason.
I forced myself to smile. Might as well get a good kill in while I'm here. "Sure."
We started dancing, gyrating to the music. He positioned himself behind me and put his ice cold hands on my hips. It would have all been very sensual and a little bit erotic if he was, you know, alive. As it was, I felt a little bit like a necrophiliac. Just goes to show what the lack of a heartbeat will do for a guy's sex appeal.
I turned around to face him again and pressed myself against him. "Why don't we go find someplace a bit more private," I said lustily into his ear.
I could practically feel him harden. He grinned and grabbed my hand and started pulling me through the crowd towards a back door that led into an alley. Once we were in our nice, slightly dark and not in the least bit creepy—please note the sarcasm—alley he turned to me. By the light of the streetlamp I could see his ruby colored eyes clearly now. "You know," he said, his voice heavy with desire, "you smell amazing."
I grinned coyly at him as I leaned up against the opposite brick wall. "Thanks. It comes in handy when luring in vampires."
He froze. "What?"
I tossed back my waist length black hair. "You heard me. I hunt vampires and my scent is a lure. You should feel honored. Usually I don't have this long of a discussion with my prey."
The vampire growled deep and low in his throat. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't half as threatening as Jasper's growl. I rolled my eyes. My claws, which I had sheathed after Jacob left, had extended again. The time for talking was long over. I lunged forward and dodged under his swipe at my chest, coming up from behind and swinging at his throat. If he'd had blood pumping through his veins it would have spurted out from the slash that nearly decapitated him, instead he just made a chocking sound. I didn't give him time to recover. I lunged in again, this time making sure I fully removed his head from his body. My claws went through the rest of his skin and muscle not quite like butter, but easily enough so that before his head hit the ground it and his body had turned to dust.
I sighed. That hadn't been much of fight. Oh well. I glanced at my claws. I would need a manicure soon just so I didn't get vampire gunk under my nails. Maybe next time I'd get electric blue polish or something equally fun. I checked myself over for any potential stains—none that I could see—and went over to the big metal door. I tried the knob. Locked. I applied pressure and the lock mechanisms snapped, allowing me to just pull the door open.
I glanced around the ever so slightly less crowded club. Leah and Clara, looking sweaty but happy, had gone back to our booth but were wisely choosing not to drink from their drinks. Good. Who knows what some creeper could have slipped into them while the table was unsupervised. I went over to them. "Hey," I said, sliding in next to Clara.
"What's up?" Clara asked. Leah just smiled.
"Nothin' much. Just partyin'. You know, havin' fun. You?"
"Melody went home with Embry," Leah said.
"Really?" I checked my watch. It read 2:00. "Well, y'all ready to go too?"
Clara nodded tiredly. Leah shrugged. "Sure."
I stood. "Kay, then." I hadn't really gotten the chance to have all that much fun but really, the way this night had been going, why would I expect anything different. At least Leah and Clara looked like they had had fun.
