Chapter Nine
Kim
There were times when Sam felt like a glorified babysitter. When Paul and Jared first phased, they had their own drama, but mostly kept it to themselves. With every phasing wolf, each one younger than the last, the pack grew rowdier. But even Quil and Embry knew better than to speak as they watched Jackie Cameron examine her son. Paul sat with his back to the arm of the couch, Jared nestled carefully between his legs so that Paul could prop him up. He had carried Jared back when he passed out from the pain, not even bothering to put on pants until they reached Sam's house. Jared had awoken in more pain than ever as Jackie arrived, tears in her eyes and her thin lips pressed in a hard line. She was trying to be professional as she poked and prodded, but winced every time Jared screamed. Despite the pain on Paul's face, he was remaining relatively composed. Which was a miracle in itself. He didn't look at anyone else but Jared as he held the other man still, pressing a kiss to his sweat-drenched temple every so often. He whispered to Jared between screams, promising him that the pain wouldn't last forever. The other boys were respectful, but Sam caught their questioning looks and uneasy expressions. Emily hung around for only a few minutes before retreating into the kitchen, claiming that she couldn't stomach it all.
Sighing, Sam moved to the kitchen where Emily sat at their usually full table alone. She held a steaming cup of tea between her hands, but didn't drink from it. She only had tea when she was trying to comfort herself. When Leah stopped talking to her, Emily made a cup every hour for a week. "Em…" Sam broached carefully as he moved behind her to place his hands on her delicate shoulders. "If this is too much for you, you should go down to the beach. You always say you don't have enough time to read anymore with feeding the pack."
"It's wrong, Sam…" She breathed in a shuttered breath as he took a seat on the bench beside her.
"Jared will be okay. I don't like these monsters any more than you do, but we're made to kill them. Jared's a little beat up, but once we get his arm set, he'll be good as new." He rubbed her back as he spoke, his hand stilling as her narrowed eyes cut to him.
"I mean them." She hissed in a whisper. Luckily, Jared and Paul were too preoccupied to listen in. "Jared imprinted on Kim. What they're doing – what those two men are doing is – is sick!" She hissed, turning her body towards him. "Did you know about this, Sam? Is this some kind of way around the imprint? You and the pack –" She practically turned green, unable to finish her thought.
"Emily…" Sam grasped her hands. As much as he hated the implication, he couldn't bring himself to be angry with her. The imprint wouldn't allow it. "I only love you. I'm only with you." He urged, tightening his hands around hers as her beautiful scared mouth tugged downward at the corners. "Paul and Jared… they're a special case. I mean, you saw them in there, Em. They love each other."
"That's ridiculous!" She hissed, pulling her hands from his after two tugs. "Jared should love Kim. She loves him more than anything and he's choosing to be with another man! Can you imagine how she'll react when she sees them like that!?"
"It's not their choice any more than it was ours!" Sam frowned, firm but not angry. If anyone should understand, it was Emily. How many lives did they ruin by getting together? Managing a pack of teenaged boys had done wonders for his composure, so Sam's face remained soft. "Jared does love Kim, just not the way she loves him." Before Emily could respond, a small feminine cry in the living room drew his attention. Sam frowned as he thought about what Emily had said. "You didn't… you called her!? Now!?"
"She deserves to see the truth, Sam!" As Emily pouted into her tea, Sam jumped to his feet. He managed to make it to the living room just as Kim collapsed at the foot of the couch.
"Sam." Jackie drew his attention. "I'm going to need your help. We'll have to rebreak the bones to set them, and I'm not strong enough." He could hear the pain in her own voice at the thought. "I'll guide you as you do it."
"Oh, Jared!" Kim bit her lip, as Jared's heavy eyes landed on her. "I'm so sorry this happened! I'm here now, though."
"Maybe I should step outside." Paul's voice didn't waver, but he spoke through clenched teeth. Before he could more, Jared's good hand rose to catch the arm draped across his chest.
"Please don't go, Paul…" He whimpered out as his pain-laced eyes found Paul's. "I need you here…" Seemingly unthinking, Jared brushed his lips over the corner of Paul's mouth before closing his eyes.
"I'll stay, baby… I won't leave you." Paul breathed, his pitying eyes moving to a shell-shocked Kim.
"I-don't…" She stuttered out before looking to Sam for an explanation. "I don't understand…"
"Get her outside. She doesn't need to be here for this…" Sam instructed the other boys. He didn't want them to be there for this either. Jared would have time to explain everything to Kim later on, but right now, he needed to make sure his pack brother was okay.
Jacob felt uneasy as he shifted his weight from one foot to another. Kim was crying on the porch steps, but no one knew what to say to ease her pain. They couldn't tell her it would be alright, because every few seconds, Jared's howling scream pierced the air. She was just lucky she didn't have wolf hearing and couldn't tell that every scream was accentuated with a sickening snap.
"Did you know that Jared and Paul…" Embry whispered to Quil as they both eyed Kim.
"No. How was I supposed to know?" Quil's brows furrowed. "I mean, did you see them? And the way Paul kept calling Jared baby? It's like they're together together."
"They are." Jacob growled, not liking that they were talking shit about their friend while he was hurt. "They've been together since before the phase."
"Why?" Kim sobbed as Emily exited the house to sit beside her. She wrapped one thin arm around the crying girl. "Why are they together? Why did Jared pretend to love me if he's gay?"
"I don't know the whole story." Jacob shrugged. "Besides, if you want answers, you should talk to Jared."
"I think the least he could do is answer a few questions." Emily frowned as she rocked Kim gently.
"I've got a few of my own." Quil snorted as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Like, how many times has he checked us out when we phased? Both of them!"
"Just because they like guys doesn't mean they'll check out every one they see." Jacob rolled his eyes. "Let's face it Quil, they're a little out of your league."
"I could get a guy!" Quil bit back, but it just made Kim sob harder. "Shit, sorry Kim. We don't mean to make this worse for you."
"I don't care if they're gay or not, but how did they keep it so quiet?" Embry asked. Jacob wanted to tell them about the gag order, but Emily looked pissed enough, and he didn't want to get Sam in anymore trouble.
"I care that they're gay!" Quil interjected. "I mean, look at what they did to Kim!"
"I care too." Emily nodded as she rubbed Kim's arm. "The imprint is a sacred bond and Jared just tossed it away."
"I think you should all mind your fucking business." It was Paul's voice that caused them all to go quiet. He looked run down and angry, but still had enough fire in his eyes to let them know that he had had enough. "Kim is the only one that needs to know anything. Jake, thanks for sticking up for us, but it's not your job."
"You guys are my friends." Jacob shrugged and looked to Quil. "Our brothers will always be our brothers."
"Kim… Jared is resting now if you want to go see him." Paul offered. She didn't look at him as she stood with Emily's help and moved back into the house.
Jared felt like he could finally breathe. His arm still throbbed, and he was sure he had blacked out again at some point, but the worst was over. Sam had taken Jackie into the kitchen to get some coffee, and Paul had retreated to let the others know that he was okay. Jared's solitude didn't last long however, because a few moments later Kim and Emily entered. "Kim…" Jared gave her a tired smile. "When did you get here? You didn't have to come…"
"About the time you kissed Paul." Her bottom lip quivered as she lifted her chin. Jared's eyes widened as it dawned on him that his hallucination of her had been very real. "How could you do this, Jared? How could you pretend to care about me while being with another man?"
Tears gathered in her eyes as Emily glared at him. Giving Kim one last squeeze, Emily joined Jackie and Sam in the kitchen. "Kim…" Jared winced in pain as he worked to sit up straighter. "Please give me a chance to explain…" He patted the seat next to him. Kim hesitated, but slowly moved to sit. This wasn't how he wanted her to find out. He was going to practice what to say, and explain to her that he still very much cared for her. Between the pain and shock of it all, the words were a jumbled mess in Jared's brain. "Paul and I started a long time before the imprint. We started even before the first phase. We thought that we could push it down… that we could ignore the way we felt." She didn't look at him, choosing instead to glare at the coffee table. "When I imprinted on you, I thought the love I felt for you would be enough, but I loved him anyway… I love him in a way I've never loved anyone else. I do love you, Kim… just not in a romantic sense. You're like family to me. I want you to be happy and healthy, and I always want you in my life… You're still my imprint, and all I want is the best for you."
"You should have told me." Her lips pressed into a fine line as her watery eyes finally turned to him. "If you had told me in the beginning, I would have been upset, but I would have understood. Instead, you lied to me over and over again. You pretend to be in love with me. You pretended that we would have a future together. I don't care that you're gay Jared, at least… not more than any girl in love does. I care that you didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth. You said it yourself, I'm your imprint. We're supposed to have a special bond, and you just..."
"I should have, Kim. I should have known that you were always so sweet – that this wouldn't have made you hate me. But I lied to myself too. I pretended that what I had with Paul was a fluke – a result of teenage hormones. I didn't realize I was in love with him until it was too late. And by the time I did, your father had just left. I didn't want to cause you anymore pain."
"Well, you did." She shook her head as she stood. As Jared reached for her, Kim stepped back. "I need time, Jared. You've have had who knows how long to process this whole thing… I need to decide if I can even look at you anymore."
"Kim!" Jared called out to her as she practically ran from the house. He winced as he jarred his arm. With tears pricking his eyes, Jared let his head fall to the back of the couch. He sat like that until he felt the couch dip near him, familiar warm fingers brushing over his cheeks. "Why couldn't it be easy?" He sighed, finally opening his eyes to look at Paul. "It's easy for straight couples. Sure, Emily and Sam had a rough time, but they can walk down the street without people hating them."
"I know, Jare… I wish it wasn't like this for us… but I don't care what people say. Even if it's just me and you against the world, I'll choose your team every time." He gave the younger wolf a small smile. "Everyone will stop hating us once they get used to it."
"We don't hate you." Embry's soft voice drew their attention. They hadn't even heard the rest of the pack enter. Even Sam stood with his back to the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. "You're our brothers. We're just upset that you know literally everything about us and hid this from us."
"I know I said some pretty shitty things, but it's just… weird. We thought we knew you guys, but we didn't even know you were together." Quil offered as he scratched the back of his head. "I mean, I know I'm hot. I don't want to ruin your relationship. If I had known, I would have turned down my sex appeal." He finished with a smile as Jared snorted.
"Any change is hard to get used to, but we don't think any less of you guys." Jacob smiled. "We're on your team too, Jared."
"Speak for yourself, dude. I totally play for the other team." Quil laughed until Sam slapped him across the back of his head. "What!? It was a joke. Geeze, I didn't know being gay made you a prude too!"
Jared knew that things would get worse before they got better. Kim might never talk to him again, and Emily didn't even seem to want to look at him without glaring, but he wasn't alone. They weren't alone. Even if the rest of the world was against him, he had his family at his back. And that was sure as hell a winning team.
AN: I know a lot of people love Emily and are going to be angry at how she was portrayed, but I felt like if anyone would have a problem with the 'disrespect' shown to the imprint, it would be her. Especially since she lost everything in pursuing the imprint. I thought about endgame being Sam/Leah, but I might have Emily go through some personal growth. I haven't decided yet.
Special thanks to LuvinTwilight143 and YaleAceBella12 for reviewing! Reviews really mean a lot to me guys, because it lets me know that you are enjoying this AU I've created :D