Sorry for the major delay on this. Since nothing really happens in this chapter, I put up two- 9 and 10. I've got the next like five chapters already written so I'll be updating pretty frequently. Review please!!

Chapter 9:

Cara:

Humming. A song I didn't know. The gentle melody carried in my mind as something hot and electric stroked my arm. I should have been worried… about something. I should have been confused but the steady pattern being twirled on my skin kept me distracted. I couldn't think straight, my mind traced the movement. Where was I?

It felt late but I couldn't say what time. Or maybe it was morning already after all. I didn't want to open my eyes just yet or face the world that had just gotten another notch more twisted and confusing. I couldn't remember why though, or maybe I didn't want to remember why. The gentle patterns on my arm were enough for now.

Then suddenly, when my mind had almost lulled back to sleep, it was gone. Springs creaked, cloth ruffled, and my head was slowly eased down onto something soft and cushioned- a pillow. A hand lightly stroked the side of my face, from temple to chin and I felt the softest kiss on my forehead. It was instantly colder the moment he pulled away.

"Jake?" My voice was raspy and almost a whisper as one by one my senses started to work. I felt the sheets tucked around me, the pillow under my head. The air circulating from the fan in the corner of the room that was just barely able to reach me; the sound of the blades whirring made me tired. And lastly the smell- of earth and rain and an avid mechanic. Everything screamed Jake.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" The bed groaned again when he sat down, his hand rested on my hip.

No time like the present, I thought and opened my eyes, taking in the sight of his shaggy dark hair and russet skin, his red-brown eyes lighter than I'd ever seen them. The steady thump-thump of my heart turned frantic in a way that shouldn't have been healthy.

"No" I lied because the way he'd woken me up hadn't been altogether unpleasant. In fact, I'd let him wake me up like that every morning if my father would let him.

With a groan, I rolled onto my back, stretching my arms over my head and yawning. Jake placed the hand that had been on my hip next to me, making a human cage and trapping me in it. The clock flashed 7a.m. when I took the briefest second to look away from his eyes. I guess the horror must have shown on my face because he chuckled, throaty and low, sending shivers down my spine.

"It's Wednesday. You're at Emily's, remember?" He reminded me of our summer long secret arrangement, tapping my nose with his finger. The mental image of Dad's red, angry face and the amount of grounding I would be in vanished, replaced by that calm from five seconds ago…

But the mention of Emily brought up a certain memory I had locked away for a while. Or the night, actually. My mind hit the road block and hit it hard. All the events of the past day came flooding back as if someone had pulled the drain in the bathtub, every word washing over me. I flinched when the visuals pieced together to go along.

"Yesterday really happened" I groaned.

It was a statement, spoken like a question. I couldn't hide the hope in my voice, the silent wish for him to deny it. I knew he wouldn't though, and that knowledge made me groan again, squeeze my eyes shut from the reality of it as if the thin layer of my eyelid could somehow magically undo it.

"Um…yeah" Jake sighed, letting his shoulders sag and his hair cover his eyes. I reached up and brushed it aside, smiled when I saw our engagement ring glittering on my left hand.

The second of euphoria didn't last long though.

"And my mother…" I let my voice trail off and the words settled in the air.

It was so bizarre, saying those words out loud. What was even more bizarre? Actually meeting the woman those words belonged to. Like meeting characters from a fictional story come to life(shout out to Stephenie Meyer!).

Jake didn't bother answering, just studied me with worry filled eyes. His hand, the hot and electric thing stroking dizzying patterns on my arm, now brushed the hair out of my face, soothing me with each touch. I could see the pain in his eyes, the desire to take yesterday away and make sure it had never happened. It made me sad, that look, to have been the cause of all the worry and anxiety. This was exactly what I'd been trying to avoid from the very beginning.

"Great" I said, and dragged a pillow over my face. My head started to throb, my chest started to ache and all I wanted to do was go back to sleep to forget anything had ever happened. It was all just too… crazy!

My mother, my mom, Mom… So many things I could call her, things I had dreamed of calling her, and yet the memories I'd attached to those names didn't match the woman I'd met. She had been cold, Diana Jamison, instead of filled with laughter and love as the pictures portrayed her. She wasn't the mom I had heard stories of, dreamt of, imagined. The realization was enough to make tiny, hairline cracks appear along my heart that choked my throat and made it hard to breathe.

I should have been happy, right? That's the appropriate response to something like this, isn't it? Finding out your mother, who you always thought was dead, is alive should be something that brings out laughter and tears and joy… so why was it that all I felt was dread, sorrow, weariness… everything I shouldn't be feeling.

Maybe it would be better if I pretended it wasn't her… just some evil twin or clone or something.

"Cara, listen… I want you to be… careful, okay? No split second decisions, alright?" Jake said sternly.

Time ticked by. When I didn't answer after two minutes I heard him sigh before the pillow was tossed across the room. He looked at me with the most serious expression I'd ever seen on him, not even the faint shadow of the ever present smile. Just a clenched jaw and dark, tense eyes.

"I was using that" To hopefully suffocate myself.

"I'm serious. If I find out tomorrow that you did something… you-like, I'll… I don't know what I'll do but you won't like it" He grumbled. He almost begged. I had no choice really though in my mind, a plan had already been forming.

"Fine, alright. You win" I said and that seemed to be enough for him. With a satisfied smile, he leaned down and planted one quick kiss on my forehead. In that one instant, his scent washed over me, choking me in a way I never wanted to stop.

"Now, come on. The Twins are on a cleaning rampage and Dad's almost home. Let's get out of here"

--

By the time we pulled up in front of my house, the first raindrops were starting to fall. I could see the light from the television flickering and imagined what the living room would look like. Boxes everywhere, leaning up against the walls, papers and every phone in the house sprawled around my father. I grimaced at the thought.

"Well" Looking away from my house, I noticed for the first time the goofy grin plastered on my imprint's face. The only problem was that I could see right through it.

The moment we had left Jake's house, the air had been tense and anxious. I could feel it right down to my core. It was as if the earth knew about the danger of this new Pack- lead by my mother- and knew exactly how I felt. It wasn't making the situation any better.

"What?" I asked.

The Rabbit rumbled as Jake looked at me and I looked at Jake. It growled like a loyal watchdog, protecting us from the outside world. Without taking his eyes away from me, he clicked off the engine and the sound of the rain took over where the Rabbit had left off. My heart started racing for no apparent reason, my body felt instantly hyper-aware.

"We'll get through this, Cara… believe me?" Jake seemed hopeful with his pleading eyes and almost genuine smile. I had the feeling he was depending on me to say I did, that he needed me to say so. The look in his eyes was enough to make my heart break, make the guilt swell up in my chest.

"I do" I said, because I'd realized it was my fault… or my mother's, which sort of made it mine too. Guilty by association or whatever. But it worked, he sighed and relaxed, though his eyes were still five shades darker.

"And I mean it, no being brave. Stay safe"
"I'll try" He shot me a warning look. "I will"

"Then… I got to get to Sam's. Second in command business, but I could stay-" Jake looked like he wanted to stay more than anything, puppy dog eyes begging for a reason to. I was almost tempted to give him one.

"And have Sam mad at me? No way, go" I said.

The rain had started to pick up even more, coming down in sheets instead of drizzles. Lightning flashed for the first time, but definitely not the last, and I could almost feel the electricity in the air. If I walked into my house to… the worst, one thing was for sure. We wouldn't be going anywhere tonight. I thanked La Push for that.

"If you say so…" I grabbed his hand, brought it to my lips. Every chance I had to even hold Jake's hand lately sent my heart into a spasm, and almost made me want to cry. His warmth had never felt so… electric, his eyes had never been so hypnotic. Maybe it was me falling even more in love with him, or the heavy possibility of having to leave.

"I do, I say so twice. Go" I leaned over, kissed him then opened the door as the rain started to pelt down in heavy sheets. The world was a gloomy greenish gray and the heat made me feel like I was stuck in a rain forest.

"Love you" I said before making a mad dash for the covered porch.

The second I was away from him I felt shockingly different. The world seemed less light and happy, and when he drove away, leaving me at home to face the wrath of whatever my father was cooking up, I felt the weight of the last day- or days- settle on me again. With a heavy sigh, I turned the knob and opened the door, instantly wishing I hadn't.