A/N: Hi guys! Happy valentines day! Hope you all enjoy!

Jared hangs up the phone, hands trembling. The wolf creeps up his spine, but it's with none of the usual force. Jared drags himself outside, all the way to the woods. There he phases, and lets out a low, anguished howl.

He doesn't have to wait long for someone to respond.

What happened?

Dude, what's wrong?

The panic in Paul's voice contrast's Sam's calm question, but Jared doesn't the energy to explain. Instead he plays back the memory of the phone call, of Kim's rejection.

Oh, god, you're going to fly off the handle every time you and Kim go through a rough patch, aren't you?

Shut up, Paul, imprinting, especially in the first few weeks, is pretty tumultuous for a wolf.

Oohh, big word, Sam.

Shut it. Jared, things are going to be fine. You can't let the wolf control your emotions, not when it comes to her. Let your human brain take this one.

The one in your head, not in your—

Shut up, Paul!

Jared laughs a little, and it comes out a low bark. He's not totally fine, but he can see that Sam and Paul have a good point. Every time he hits a snag with Kim, every time he gets resistance from her, makes him want to phase. He's got to get himself back under control.

Emily does yoga. Maybe you could do it with her?

Yeah, Jared. Up for a little downward dog action?

Jared growls, but it's too playful to have a bite. He and Paul leap at each other, wrestling.

Pack it in! While we're out here, we might as well get a patrol done.

And just like that, the light mood disappears.

Sam has them patrol the treaty border for a few hours, and when it looks like the res is leech free, Sam gives them the okay to go home. Jared takes his time, gathering his thoughts. His mom's been on his case lately, about disappearing all the time. Even Parker's been asking questions.

When he does get home, in just his jeans and shoes, his mother waits on the porch, hands on her hips.

"Jared, where have you been?" she asks. Jared smiles as charmingly as he can.

"Nowhere ma, just taking a walk." He presses a kiss to her cheek, and slips in the kitchen before she can get another word in. "What's for dinner?"

"Pot roast. Now, where did you actually go?" His mother is much smaller than him, but she's raised him and Karey all on her own after his dad died, so Jared's got a healthy fear of her. He sits.

"Just walking," he answers, keeping a straight face. He's gotten much better at lying now, had to be. Sam's gag order prevents him telling his family anything, no matter how much he wants to sometimes.

"Shirtless in the woods?" Her words drip with ire, but Jared can see the genuine worry behind the words. He thinks fast.

"There's this girl," he starts. Bonnie, his mom, sits, folding her hands in front of her. "She hikes sometimes, through the woods. I've been trying to get her attention." He winces at the lie, but hopefully, his mom will just buy it as embarrassment. Bonnie starts to laugh and doesn't stop.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, it's really dumb." Bonnie shakes her head, still laughing too hard to talk. Karey walks into the kitchen and stops short when she sees her mother in hysterics.

"What's so funny?" she asks, pouring herself a glass of juice.

"Guess where Jared's been!" Bonnie says between bouts of laughter. Karey takes a seat, eyes twinkling.

"Where have you been, Jare?"

"Hiking shirtless through the woods to impress a girl!" At this, Karey cracks up, dropping her head into the cradle of her arms.

Jared waits, unimpressed, for them to finish laughing, but every time they look at him, one of them starts up again, setting the other off. It takes an entire fifteen minutes for them to calm down.

"Oh, god, Jared, we were worried you were on drugs!" Karey shakes her head, like she's trying to shake off her giggles. "I can't believe you!"

"Did it work?" Bonnie asks, in mock seriousness. Jared glares at them, but neither stop smirking at him. "Did she fall for your glorious six pack?"

"Mom!" he yelps, cheeks burning. He knows his body's changed considerably, but he so doesn't need his mother commenting on it.

"I'm sorry, I'll stop," she concedes, still laughing a little. The smile slips off her face. "Oh god, I don't have to worry any pregnant teenagers, do I? Because I don't think I'd be able to handle that, honey."

"No! Absolutely not!" Embarrassment surges through him, rousing the wolf. Immediately, his heckles rise, but Jared forces it down. His mom holds her palms up, in a peaceful gesture.

"Alright, I trust you." Karey frowns, wrapping her arms around herself. Karey has personal experience with pregnant teenagers, she used to be one. She had Parker her junior year and has only just now gotten her life back to where she wants it to be.

"Anyways, it's not like she's even looking my way. I thought for a while that we were good, but I guess not." It feels good to talk about it, even if Jared can't divulge all the details. Bonnie's eyes soften.

"Maybe you're going about this all wrong. Try to appeal to her likes, her hobbies, her interests. Show her you really care. A relationship is about being yourself with a person and enjoying life together." Jared smiles at his mom's sentiment.

"Sure, mom," he agrees. The mischievous twinkle in her eye resurfaces.

"No more hiking shirtless through the woods! It's creepy and weird!"

By the time, Jared escapes the teasing, it's pretty late, so the trudges over to his desk, pulling out some schoolwork. He gets through a solid amount of it before deciding he's done. Everything due tomorrow has been taken care of, so Jared figures that's good enough.

He flops back onto his bed, mulling over his mom's words. Appeal to Kim's likes, show her that he cared. Maybe that was it. Maybe she thought he didn't care enough. Carefully, Jared runs through everything he knows about Kim, trying to find something to get him started.

There are pins on her backpack, he remembers, of comic book characters. There's a comic book store up in Port Angeles, maybe he could take her there.

First things first, though. He needed to get back to being friends with Kim for this to work.

A/N: So, Jared has a plan of action! Let me know what you thought, especially of Jared's family. Tune in next time!