"hold the phone

hit repeat

got me foamin' at the knees

saw the flame, tasted sin

you burn me once again

cut the cord, she's a creep"

-Aberdeen by Cage the Elephant

Chapter IX – Strategy.

Ahala stared at Jacob with wide eyes. The automatic impulse to reach out and touch him was momentarily stilled by the sheer shock of the situation. His eyes were burning and bloodshot, and he stared at her in a way that she couldn't interpret right at that moment.

"She got to the ocean before we could get her." Sam said, "We need to get inside and come up with a new schedule, we can't –"

"We can't go inside, Sam." Ahala said, forcing her gaze away from her imprint and focusing on her alpha. "Jesy is in there."

Sam sighed, squinting his eyes shut and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Shit; okay. Jared, go tell Paul to get her out of there – and make sure he doesn't leave her alone. If the vamp smells a wolf on her it'll attack."

Jared nodded, and turned back to the house.

"Ahala, Jacob – since you two are the fastest, you're going to be running with me on night patrols. Jared, Embry and Paul will be doing day patrols, and when we have everyone here we're going to come up with a way to alert each other if something goes wrong."

"We're wolves," Jacob said, "we can howl."

Sam looked at Jacob for a moment with an unfathomable expression, and then nodded. "It's good that you're around, Jake. It makes our numbers even." There was a tense silence, and Ahala wanted to know why; what had happened between them in those three hours?

"What's going on?" She asked, moving between her alpha and her imprint.

Jacob's arm encircled her shoulders, and he pulled her back against his chest. "It doesn't matter." She wanted to believe him, but the way Sam looked at her she knew that whatever had happened did matter – and Jacob must've sensed that she knew, because he pulled his arm away and grabbed her hand. "Let's go to the beach, Ahala. We have to talk."

She wasn't sure what to be more alarmed about: the fact that Jacob had said 'we need to talk' or the look Sam had cast at them before turning and jogging towards the house. It felt as if she'd had the world in her palm just hours ago; it felt as if the world had been dashed into pieces.

He had begun leading her through the forest, but Ahala dug her heels into the ground and halted him. "What's going on, Jacob? There can't be secrets between us. I don't want this to turn into some shitty, mythical love triangle."

He turned and gave her an incredulous look. "Love triangle?"

Ahala swallowed the fear rising in her throat and continued. "I know you liked Bella, Jacob."

"Of course I did – I still do. If it wasn't for this imprint I would be finding a way to be with her right now…wait…Ahala." He had realized the impact of his words too late; she had taken on that stone cold face – the one Sam used when he was angry or stressed out – and forced her hand away.

"You know," she started, "I'm not playing any of these little teenager games, Jacob. This is real shit. What Bella has going on – that's real shit. And…and you're planning to mess everything up by going to her. Don't you know how fucking long I've waited to finally be with you? I mean, fuck, I didn't want to imprint on you at first – but I realized that even without the imprint I would've liked you. And now you're going to fucking sit here and – and – fucking hell, Jacob!"

She was trembling so hard, and a terrible feeling was rising in her chest. She felt like she was ripping apart, and as she watched Jacob begin to back away she knew what was happening.

Tatters of her clothes lay strewn around her and she stared at him through new eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ahala." He said, "But I didn't ask for this. It's not right that I have to follow these stupid rules – I should be able to make choices for myself."

She let herself calm down just enough to morph back; she wasn't going to let this conversation be over until everything was okay again. She ignored the way his cheeks reddened when he looked at her. "That's the thing about the Pack, Jacob. You can't make choices for yourself. When you phased, you were bound to us – all of us. You have to consider your brothers – your imprint – and let them help you decide."

"That's not fair."

"Hell, I know it's not. But like I said, this is real shit. It's so sad, the way we were all forced to grow up so fast, but we're here for a reason. And now, there's a bloodsucker running around here and I have a feeling it's not looking for a treaty. We can't afford to play any of these games."

Jacob, having shed his shy exterior, approached her and gripped her shoulders. "It's not a game, Ahala. You know this wolf crap had never happened we would've never spared each other another glance."

She sighed. "But it did happen, and we have to face that."

He shook his head. "I can't face that."


When Ahala got back to Emily's, Jesy and Paul were gone and everyone was sitting at the table. Jacob was trailing behind her, hesitantly; they hadn't exactly ended their argument, but they hadn't continued it either. They were at a standstill, and for now, that would have to do.

They sat next to each other, and too tired to resist the impulse, Jacob placed his hand on Ahala's knee. She didn't object; she was upset with him, but that didn't lessen the way he made her feel.

"We've been working on a new formation," Embry murmured, passing over a piece of notebook paper to Ahala. "The first two wolves are Sam and Paul, since they're the tanks of the Pack. Then, there's me and Jared, and our job is to defend the flanks. That leaves you and Jacob, and since you guys are the fastest your job is to make sure the vamp stays in sight."

Ahala nodded, giving the paper a cursory glance before passing it back to him.

"Alright," Sam said, "Since Paul is away, Jared, Embry and I are going on shift. You guys just…relax," he watched the imprinted couple carefully, before standing and leading Jared and Embry out.

Ahala watched through the screen door as her brothers vanished into the woods, unwilling to meet Jacob's eyes. Her skin was crawling with warmth where his hand was, and she wanted so badly to look into his eyes and kiss him like she had earlier in the morning, but they were in the middle of an argument; she couldn't do that, not if she wanted him to see her side.

"Ahala," he murmured, and his finger was drawing soft lines down her jaw.

She let her eyes close, and in a breath, she said, "Jacob."

"I…what I said earlier, I'm sorry. I want to be with you. But I can't leave Bella like the Cullen guy left her. I can't be that kind of guy," He said, Letting his hands draw down her shoulders to her waist, where he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest.

She just nodded, letting her head lay against his shoulder.

"Which is why you need to help me. Sam put me under his gag order. I can't go see Bella."

At this, Ahala opened her eyes. "You want me to tell her for you?"

She felt Jacob nod.

It was a lot to ask, but it was Jacob; she would do anything for him. Even if it meant letting the only girl who posed a threat to their relationship in on the secret, she would do it; hopefully it would down the high tension in the Pack. "I'll do it," she said, and then turned to smile at him.

He was smiling too, and this time, Ahala didn't have to lean up; Jacob kissed her.


A/n - Surprise! *throws confetti* Yes I'm a little loopy right now because I'm on heavy medication due to an accident with an axe (it was almost in my leg).

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