Chapter 10
"I still remember Sam looking wounded by my rejection," Emily said. "Leah saw it too and point blank asked Sam if he left her for me. I'll never forget his answer…"
The air in the room felt like it was made of lead as Leah, Harry, and Emily all looked at Sam, waiting for his answer to Leah.
"If she will have me, then I am hers," Sam replied.
The blood drained from Emily's face and at the same time Leah's blood boiled. A surge of rage overcame Leah as she slapped Sam hard in the face. Her own hand bruised in the process and a painful cry sprung from her lips.
"I never want to see either one of you again!" Leah screamed and ran from her house.
"No, Leah!" Emily bolted after her. "Leah, I don't want it!" Tears tore from her eyes blurring her vision, making it even harder to follow her.
Leah's legs were long and strong and she knew the area far better than her cousin. Emily searched for Leah for over an hour, but couldn't find her anywhere. Disgusted with herself and Sam, Emily returned to the Clearwater's home and through her continuous tears she gathered her belongings determined to go back home.
"Emily, wait!" Harry said. "Give Sam a chance. He needs you."
"This is wrong, Uncle Harry. I can't stay here!" Emily sobbed.
"We will not abandon you. I know where you can stay. There is a family home here. It will take some fixing up, but you can stay there and you'll have your privacy."
"Privacy for what? To run away with Leah's ex-boyfriend! Imprint or not, Uncle Harry, this is ridiculous." Emily continued to sob.
"Just, give it a try."
Harry and Sue left to check on the new home for Emily and a couple hours later they came back for her. Regardless of whether anything happened with Sam, Emily knew she couldn't stay with the Clearwaters, so she agreed to go with them. Emily looked out the window at the thick forest surrounding the dirt road which lead to what would now be her residence.
To her surprise, the place was clean and most of the old wood furniture was still in good condition. Harry and Sue promised to bring Emily anything she needed and soon the lost cabin in the woods became her home.
Later the same night, as Emily laid in bed, she heard a wolf howl. It sounded like the animal was in such despair her heart ached for the lonely animal. She threw on her robe and opened the front door to stand on the wide front porch to search for the wounded animal. The moon shone bright as a large black wolf exited from the shadows.
"What on earth?" Emily whispered. Fear seized her body and for several minutes she did nothing but tremble as the beast came closer to her.
Suddenly, the instinct to flee washed over her and she sprung for the front door. She ripped it open and quickly slammed it behind her. Her back pressed against the door as she pushed with everything she had in case the wolf tried to break through the door.
A fist pounding on the door caused Emily to scream inside the cabin.
"Emily! It's Sam!" he said, as the pounding continued.
"Go away!" Emily yelled back.
"I can't," Sam insisted.
Tears tore from her heart and streamed down her face. Her legs gave out from under her and she sunk to the floor with her head resting on her bent knees. She wanted it all to go back to the way it had been before because it was simple and everyone was happy. However, she knew everything had changed.
Emily awoke to sunlight shining on her face. As she looked around, she noticed she was in her bed with a blanket laid over her. "How did I get here?" she asked herself.
Her head still ached from crying the night before, but at least her hair remained in the french braid which ran down to the middle of her back. She took some medication for her migraine and then went to the kitchen to find something for breakfast.
Snoring from the couch alerted her to the fact she was not alone. Emily almost woke Sam up immediately to insist he get out of her home, but she was too tired. Though she didn't want him near her, she couldn't exactly blame him for wanting to escape the large wolf which had stalked outside last night . She knew he could leave once he awakened later.
Emily began to make breakfast and the smell of food aroused Sam from sleep. A minute later she saw him standing shirtless and barefoot in her kitchen. Her body longed to be close to him, but her mind felt repulsed by her desires.
"Assuming the wolf from last night is gone, I would like for you to leave," Emily told him.
"Emily," Sam moved closer to her.
"Stop!" Emily instructed, holding out a hand towards him.
"That wolf, it was me."
She remembered Uncle Harry and Sam telling her he could become a wolf, but she never imagined it was so large or it was a complete transformation into a beast.
"You're a monster." Emily stepped back again, her back finding the refrigerator as she leaned as far away as she could.
"We are protectors!" Sam insisted, his hand reaching out towards Emily. His wolf, feeling the need to defend himself sprung forth from Sam's body, causing Sam's hand to transform into razor claws which slashed through her skin.
"How did you survive that?" Jake asked. He shuddered remembering the look of Emily's crumbled body which Sam had allowed Jake to see.
"I'm not sure."
An hour earlier they took off their shoes and walked hand in hand along the side of the creek. The mud squished between their toes and birds sang overhead. It was such a tranquil setting for such a long and serious conversation.
"Apparently Sam freaked out and couldn't phase back. Paul and Jared heard his howls for help and ran to Aunt Sue. She stitched the wounds back together. She saved my life, but she is not a plastic surgeon, so..." Emily shrugged sadly, leaving the sentence hanging about her scarred features.
"Do you remember any of it?" Jake asked.
"No, I was unconscious for four days and then pain medication left me very loopy. Apparently Sam remained a wolf until I woke up and then he finally believed he hadn't killed me. Once he phased back, he never left my side."
"Sam believes it was the accident which actually brought you together. That has always seemed odd to me. Is it true?" Jake asked.
Emily released a deep breath as her fingertips touched her lips thoughtfully. Many times as she told her story Jake saw her eyes glaze over in memory. It often kept him from asking a question so she could organize her thoughts without interruption. This time her eyes appeared sad, like the memory wasn't just physically painful, but affected her very essence.
"I guess you could say that. Three weeks after my injury, I saw myself for the first time. Aunt Sue removed the bandages to add antibiotic cream and I insisted I wanted to see what Sam had done to me." A tear escape from her eye and slid down her scarred cheek as her lips trembled to hold back the sea of emotion which threatened to erupt. "Black stitching held my skin together, but I could tell thick scars would remain for the rest of my life. Before I wasn't the most beautiful person ever, but…"
"Now wait a minute, I have seen your face from before and I think beautiful would be a very good description." Jake smiled at her, his arm naturally finding itself around her waist.
Emily blushes sadly. "Yeah, well, I'm not anymore. I stopped fighting Sam because I knew that, that I was the monster now."
Jake couldn't believe what he had heard. Emily had agreed to the imprinting out of her depression and not because she actually loved Sam. Why didn't anyone think about the emotional damage losing half of her face would have caused her? Something like that doesn't bring a loving couple together. It seemed closer to Stockholm Syndrome where messed up emotions, mimicking love, develop between the captive and the captor.
The dam of emotion broke loose inside of Emily and she cried violently. Jake scooped up her fragile body and carried her to a large boulder. As Jake sat down he nestled Emily on his lap, holding her close.
"That isn't true Emily. You are kind, helpful, and just as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside."
Her head shook as it rested on his shoulder, her long hair draped down her face. Even after accepting Sam, Emily still hid herself behind her hair. Jake's hand threaded through her long locks, moving the strands from her face, tucking them behind her ear. It was there one of her deepest scars began. His lips kissed her face, starting at one raised ridge, following the trail to her lips. He could taste the salt from her tears and wanted to heal her soul which had been badly damaged.
These kisses had nothing to do with a rebellious decision to try to hurt Sam, but were from a guy who desperately wanted someone he cared about to feel better. There was no hesitation as Emily's lips moved against his and her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Jake felt her chest against his and pressed his hands into her back to hold her closer.
Emily's hands gripped into his hair, her body shaking from emotions. Sadness and despair mixed with passion and lust to create a desire needing to be quenched. Jake groaned feeling her nails drag across his scalp. His hands feeling her soft skin, plunged under her shirt to feel more of her. Powerful lips caressed against an experienced tongue as they worked together to send sweet chills over Jake's body.
"Jake, your skin," Emily mumbled feeling the bubbled goose skin with her fingertips.
"It's okay," Jake encouraged, leaning back slightly to remove his shirt. He didn't actually feel cold, it was simply his skin reacting to the delicious sensations which swam over him. While taking a short break to breathe, he discarded Emily of the dreaded fabric which had once been called her shirt.
His eyes roamed over her blue bra with tiny yellow flowers over it. The material felt soft against his fingertips and he was surprised by how thin it felt. He could feel the weight of her breast as he cradled it in the palm of his hand. Jake touched her in way he had quite literally only dreamed of touching and Emily responded without pause.
Emily's tongue tangling with his felt like heaven. Her movements against him felt so real and natural as his name fell from her lips. To allow her lips to continue to speak, Jake took a lazy detour to kiss along her neck. His hands caressed her soft mounds and found her sweet peaks, which his thumbs pleasured.
"My god, Em," Jake groaned as she shifted in his lap to straddle his hips.
"You like that Jake," Emily teased and rubbed her heat against his bulging crotch.
"Yes," he hissed, instinctively grinding against her.
Heavy rain clouds blocked out the sun as sudden drops fell rapidly from the sky, but neither stopped to care. Thinking about Sam being the clouds and Jake as the sun, were far from his mind as loud claps of thunder competed with echoing moans as half clothed bodies found pleasure in each other. It was not a soft, gentle rain, it was a heart pounding thunderstorm soaking them instantly to the bone.
"We need to go," Emily mumbled, her lips still touching his.
"Not yet," Jake smiled at her. He once again kissed her scarred cheek this time towards her ear and took the sensitive lobe between his teeth. Her head fell back as he nibbled on her flesh. "I could stay like this forever."
"But we can't," Emily frowned, her arms tightening around him in a hug.
"What are we going to do?" Jake asked. After releasing a deep breath, he ran a nervous hand through his short hair. It was no understatement Sam rubbed him the wrong way, but Jake wasn't completely heartless. He knew how important Emily was to Sam. As Jake thought about leaving her to Sam, it made him feel sad and disappointed. He didn't want Emily to be Sam's, he wanted her for himself.
Why did he always have to go for women who were hung up on someone else? First Bella who couldn't get over Edward and now Emily. The difference with Emily was she was quite responsive to him, she liked him, he could tell. He liked her too. She was fun and flirty and in the back of his mind he knew he also liked that being with her was naughty.
The rain continued to spatter against their skin as they held each other tightly. Emily sunk into his warmth. "I don't have an answer for you Jake. There is something here, and I really want to figure it out."
"I do too," Jake smiled at her, kissing her tenderly because he wanted to. "Ready to go back?"
Emily smiled and nodded her head. She appeared confident and didn't seem nervous about returning home. Jake had no idea what was in store for them, but he was happy and so was Emily.
"Let's get to the car," Emily said. She stood from Jake's lap and then both put their shirts back on. They were both already soaked to the bone and walked back towards the car hand in hand. Despite the storm which fell around them, they felt at peace.
Once seated in the car Jake wiped the rain from his arms and shook his head, spraying Emily.
"Nice," Emily laughed.
Jake also thought back to when he showed up at her house, soaked and naked. He enjoyed making her giggle and sending drops from his head to her. His sunny smile stretched across his face.
Emily tried to start her car, but the pile of junk wouldn't cooperate. "Oh no," she frowned.
"Well, at least now we have an excuse of why we never made it to the grocery store."
"I guess so," Emily reluctantly got back out of the car and Jake joined her, taking her hand.
The storm continued to rage, the wind picking up caused Emily to shiver. "How about I carry you, and run back," Jake offered.
"You'll be, uh, staying human, right?" Emily asked, her lip trembling.
"Yeah, maybe one of these days I'll show you my wolf." Emily gasped and instinctively moved away from him. "Or maybe I won't. Em, you know I won't ever hurt you."
"I've heard that before." Emily touched the corner of her lip which remained as a constant smirk from Sam's claws.
"I am not him."
"I know, and because of that, we have a problem," Emily acknowledged.
Jake nodded. "First things first," he scooped Emily up in his arms and began to move at a steady jog towards Sam and Emily's house. "How do we want to handle, whatever this is?" Jake asked.
"Maybe that should be up to you." Emily shrugged, her arms tightly around Jake's neck.
"You're kidding right? You are Sam's imprint, which means, literally everything is up to you."
Emily nodded, her lips pursing together thoughtfully. Jake would give anything if he could peer inside her mind the same way he could Sam. Instead they stayed silent for the remainder of the journey. If they hadn't of started off soaked, they certainly would have been by the time Jake carried Emily through the front door.
"What the hell?" Sam yelled at them both, looking at them.
Jake released a sigh and set Emily on her own feet. "Her car is a moving piece of crap. It broke down."
"We thought about waiting out the storm, but Jake decided to carry me home," Emily added.
Sam wrapped his arms around Emily and held her close to him. "Jeez, you're freezing. Good job taking care of her, Black." Sam shook his head at Jake.
"I'll do better next time." Jake smirked, giving Emily a wink.
Emily blushed. "I'm going to take a shower."
A shower sounded good, but Jake felt starving and decided to throw some food on a plate and begin microwaving. A couple minutes later, Jake had been to his room and was back in dry clothes, ready to sit down at the table to eat.
"Jacob, we need to talk," Sam said, his angry eyes piercing into him.
Author Note: Were you glad to finally hear Emily's side of the story? I hope this story has made you think about some of your assumptions about imprinting and maybe reconsider things. If you have enjoyed this story, please check out my original story, Poisoned. Though it is a completely different story than this one, I think you'll enjoy it. Go to JJLiniger dot com.
