Chapter 10- Breakthrough
Jared spent the evening talking with his mother. Once he opened up about Bella, he literally couldn't stop talking about her. He almost blew their pack secret multiple times, stopped only by the gag order that Sam issued when he first phased.
His mom was surprisingly helpful on the human aspects of the situation. "Just talk to Paul," she said. "If he knows that you're truly interested in this girl I'm sure he'll back off.
"Besides," she continued. "From what you've said, it doesn't sound like she wants very much to do with him."
Jared mulled over the advice and finally decided his mother was right. For all he knew, this was just some kind of game to Paul. Just because Paul's wolf liked her smell didn't mean anything. Jared's wolf liked her whole person. Jared did as well.
He lay awake in his bed waiting for his family to drift off to sleep so he could return to Bella's house and ease the ache that was only relieved in her presence. He had no idea how he would handle the day away from her at school tomorrow.
It was well after midnight when he felt a sudden jolt of fear that had him clutching his chest at the throbbing pain. He fell to his knees, disoriented, and tried to hold his shape together as his wolf threatened to burst through his skin.
Bella! He wasn't sure where the thought came from, but as soon as her name crossed his mind he knew the pain was somehow connected to her. He crawled to his window and pushed it open, throwing himself out on the ground below.
He barely made it to the trees before he phased, his wolf literally clawing his way out already running for his little mate. There was no human rationality left in the wolf's mind, only an animalistic drive to reach the girl he claimed as his.
Sam was standing at Bella's window when he felt his brother drawing closer. He'd been thinking over the past two days, and Bella's reaction to Paul more specifically. She'd been crying as he held her, but he was able to make out her words– "I thought he was Jared." She'd repeated the same phrase over and over until she fell asleep in the alpha's arms.
He held his ground when the brown wolf ran into the yard, shocked when he phased without pausing and climbed up the tree. Sam tried to stop him, but the look in the younger boy's eyes chilled him. Jared wasn't there—the wolf was in control of his body.
Sam was worried when the wolf stepped around him fluidly and walked straight to Bella's bed. He growled lowly, probably smelling both Paul and Sam on the girl, but Bella's reaction was more interesting. Her restless tossing had settled down and her sleeping face turned toward Jared as soon as he was in the room.
She didn't appear to wake when he lifted her into his arms, and she tucked her face against him with a sigh as he ran his hands and nose across her skin. The tension in his pose seemed to relax, and with a shudder, Jared jerked his head toward Sam.
His eyes were wide with fear as he realized the wolf had pushed him down so completely, but the feelings he got from the animal had shaken him as well. "Sam?" he called softly. "Bella's mine."