CHAPTER SIX

Zora found herself back on Leah's front porch, her can of beer now empty. That was how they spent most of their evenings together before having to patrol. Leah was old enough to buy alcohol, and they had discovered early on that they couldn't become intoxicated—no matter how many cans they downed.

"Something to do with our wolf metabolism, probably," Leah said, munching on Chex mix.

"I like to think it's because we're so powerful and badass that even drunkenness is no match for us," Zora replied, eliciting a loud laugh from Leah, who was currently holding their snack hostage.

As the second female member of the pack, Zora had inherited the same indignant attitude as Leah, or as Paul called it, "The Bitch Curse"—which he'd only been able to say once because Zora broke his arm afterwards. And not that she could help it, either. After her very first encounter with Jacob, the tension between them had only gotten worse. Zora was undeniably drawn to him, due to their connection, of course, but he was certainly attractive. And when he smiled—she had seen it not in person, but through the shared wolf memory—his entire being lit up so beautifully it made her heart ache.

There was another part of her, though—her rational side that could look beyond the effects of the imprint—that wanted nothing to do with him. Because she was intelligent and independent and didn't want to bend to the will of some stupid wolf magic. She didn't know Jacob, had never even said a word to him, and seeing his reaction upon meeting her, didn't care to know him. The wolf magic won the majority of the arguments, however; and much to her chagrin, kept her linked to him.

Jacob didn't make it easy, either. Despite their dangerously high temperature, he left Zora feeling so cold. He didn't smile, never said hello, and didn't joke with her the way he did with the others. If they were near each other, he'd pretend she was nonexistent; he could look at her, and she knew that he was looking through her, as if she were invisible. He was the master of making her angry and miserable all at once.

His favorite form of torture was one that could change her from human to beast in seconds: thinking of Bella Swan. Leah wasted no time divulging to Zora the story of "the world's biggest vampire ass-kisser."

"She's the most annoying person I've ever met."

Zora learned all that she could from Leah's biased opinion: that Bella had an inclination for getting herself injured, that she worshipped her undead lover at his feet, that she hoped to join said lover's family as another undead member, and most importantly, that she was using Jacob.

"When her bloodsucker abandoned her, she turned to Jacob and clung to him like dog shit on a shoe," Leah said, snickering at her own joke. "Had it not been for her and all the vampire drama she threw herself into, you and I wouldn't be in this mess."

And messy, it was. A month after her transformation, Sam started training Zora for a fight that seemed inevitable. An army of newborn vampires was headed to Forks, led by an unknown source seeking bloodshed. And their target was none other than the infamous Bella Swan.


"Remind me why we're doing this again?" Zora said as she trotted through the darkness.

"Because it was an order from Sam," Leah replied, sounding bored.

"Not the patrolling…I meant why do we have to fight? Why so we have to protect some girl that we don't even care about?" And it was entirely true: Zora had absolutely no care for a girl she'd never met, a girl whose hands were wrapped too tightly around Jacob's heart. "Let her get eaten. I wouldn't flinch."

Leah snorted. "Yeah, right. I know you don't even mean that."

Zora gave her the side eye. "How do you know?"

"Because we're in each other's heads. Duh."

Zora was still getting used to sharing thoughts. Having unlimited access to the pack's brains was exhausting sometimes. When they were all in wolf form together, it was like having your eyes forcibly held open as a never-ending stream of images and words flew at you. Lately, the images she was subjected to were all memories of past, but recent, patrols. Snippets of dark nights spent running through the forest or along the coast, sightings of rogue foot prints, wolves play-fighting to pass the time, and Bella's house. Not only were they patrolling in La Push, but in Forks as well…at the Swan residence.

It had been a few weeks since the patrolling started, but the presence of the Cullens still startled Zora. Sam had agreed with them that they would take turns guarding Bella—as if she were a princess hidden away in a golden tower—and watch after her while the Cullens left to feed.

The first time Zora met the vampire family, she couldn't stop her body from shaking. It wasn't as if they looked scary; all of them were quite stunning, with perfect hair, pale, symmetrical faces, and marble-sculptured bodies. But knowing what they were and what they were capable of still frightened her. She had been assigned to patrol with Jacob that night, who was not happy he'd have to spend several hours with the person he melodramatically said was, "ruining his life."

They ran in silence. Zora wouldn't have minded if it was anyone else…but his silence actually hurt. Zora cursed the stupid imprinting, earning a huff of annoyance from the large russet wolf running next to her.

"What?" she said defensively, embarrassed that she'd been caught thinking about him while they were sharing thoughts.

Jacob shook his head and ran forward, causing Zora's mood to worsen.

"You can't ignore me forever. We're stuck with each other. For life."

He growled. "Well, we wouldn't be stuck if you hadn't—"

"Hadn't what?" she interrupted. "Shifted? Ever been born?"

"That's not what I was going to say."

"That's what you make it seem like," she said, her voice rising. It was the first conversation they were having and she was already emotional. Great. "I didn't choose any of this, Jacob. I didn't choose you."

Jacob's momentum faltered for a moment, feeling a strange spasm of pain in his chest. He hadn't expected Zora to be so…blunt. Or for her comment to make him feel as if he were being punched in the stomach.

"You act like I purposely sabotaged you and your impossible plans to woo Bella."

"It's not impossible," he muttered.

Zora laughed, a mirthless, growling noise leaving her muzzle. "Right, sure…Bella's going to leave her immortal lover for a teenage man-boy wolf."

He pushed against her, her stride breaking for a moment. "Despite what you think, she does care about me. I know she feels something – maybe not enough right now, but she will."

She could feel the determination in his voice, could see the fantasies he played and replayed: he and Bella holding hands, going on ice cream dates, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear as his mouth moved closer to hers. She was angry, of course. More than anything, though, she ached; her muscles, her mind, and her heart. Looking into his mind was wearying.

Jacob could sense it, too. He saw, with his eyes, her movements slow; and with his mind, he saw an empty, grey expanse. She was trying to block her thoughts, though her resolve wasn't steely—he'd catch quick glimpses hiding behind the mist, images of his face and Bella's steeped in feelings of frustration and sadness.

He hated admitting it, but feeling Zora's sadness made him sad, too. Projecting those images into her mind stirred a river of guilt to flow within him. He may have wanted to hurt her feelings in the beginning, but he was started to realize that his actions were more damaging than he meant them to be. However, he wouldn't even feel this way if she hadn't imprinted on him. God damn it, why did she have to imprint on him, of all people? She could've ended up with someone who could actually be devoted to her, someone who could make her happy.

He sighed, but it sounded more like a deep grunt. He looked at Zora, who was still following after him. Even her wolf was beautiful; she was small and muscular like Leah, but her fur was sleek and dark as the night, save for a patch of white on her neck. He thought of the first time he met her and the details he memorized so quickly: dark freckles, scarred eyebrow, rich brown skin. He wondered if she was soft, and thought it'd be nice to trace his fingertips down her neck and along her collarbones, across her arms or the curve of her back…

Zora coughed, breaking Jacob's mental trance. Had he been his regular, human self, his cheeks would've taken on a bright, scarlet hue. Of course he'd get caught thinking of her while mentally linked to her.

"What was that?" she asked, sounding amused and slightly breathless.

"Nothing," he said quickly, running past her again. This time, she had no trouble keeping up.

"You sure? It didn't look like nothing."

Jacob could hear the smile in her voice. The coldness of her mind was melting thanks to his slip-up. He groaned. "Just drop it, Zora."

It was the first time he'd called her by her name. Though he wasn't aware of the significance, it made Zora continue their run with a big, wolfy grin.

"Sure thing, Jacob."


AN:

Updated, at last! Thanks to everyone who left a review, followed, and favorited. I know this one seems like a filler chapter as well, but I'm just trying to develop their relationship logically and show the process. So please, bear with me as this story progresses!

And to Monica: this may be a story where Jacob tries to fight the imprint-but only at first. Remember that he still has the ability to imprint, so I'd like to think that he's not as affected by it as the others. Not to say that he can't feel any of it at all, because he definitely can, he just has a bit more leeway. :-)