Hey, hey, my lovelies!
I know, I know! It's been soo long! I am so sorry! But I wanted to get A Wolf's Embrace finished and it's sequel on its feet. Please, forgive me. I'll be updating Pawprints in the Sky soon as well, hopefully so bear with me. Again, I'm so sorry!
Thank you to all who have stuck with this and for being so patient. Please review!
Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN TWILGIHT! UNFORTUNATELY…D:
Without further ado…Enjoy!
Chapter 10
Teasing
Chris' Point of View
I stood in my front doorway, staring blankly at the three men stood before me on the porch. My insides quivered with unexpressed anger and I wanted nothing more than to release onto them. All the years of abandonment and loneliness that his absence caused had me swallowing convulsively against the expletives and profanities that were dying to be thrown his way. The nerve of him showing up here, on my door step. What? Did expect forgiveness? That easily? Never. I'll never forgive him.
"I suggest you get the fuck off my porch, before we have a repeat of the beech incident, Josh." I almost growled, glaring at him. He stood firm, holding his hands up to silence the two either side of him as they growled at my comment.
"Please, Chris, I simply wish to talk. Five minutes, that's all I ask." Josh pleaded, pathetically.
"You want five minutes of my time even though you haven't bothered with the last 17?" I asked, incredulously. His face fell into darkness with something that resembled shame and remorse. Only, I knew that he'd never feel that. He couldn't.
"Please, I'll explain everything. Just give me five minutes." He asked again, lowly. I stared at him, blankly as he looked at the wood beneath his feet. My 'brothers' stared at me though, not quite glaring but not blank either. Was that curiosity? They had no right to be curious about me.
"I won't ask you again." I repeated, flatly.
"Please-"
"NO! Get the fuck off my porch before i throw you off it!" I snarled, taking a step forward, threateningly. Sam and Embry growled, stepping forward as a mirror to my actions. They could go fuck themselves.
I felt two hands on my shoulders and I straightened up from the crouch I hadn't even realised I'd bowed into. I glared for a second longer before glancing either side of me. Paul stood to my right, glaring at the three men in my doorway as Seth stared at me, sadness in his eyes that could rival my own. My heart clenched at the sight. Something so happy should look so…sad. He squeezed my shoulder and I couldn't help but lift my hand to rest on top of his. He smiled slightly but brightly before looking at my 'family' with a frown.
"Guys, come on, what you doing?" Seth asked, incredulous and slightly irritated. Embry glared at him.
"Stay the fuck out of this, Seth. This is between us and our brother." He snapped, making Seth flinch at his tone and then growl. My felt my own anger flowing through me at his words and tone. How dare he speak to Seth like that!
"Oh hell no! You can come here. You can harass me like fucking stalkers. Fuck, you could even growl and glare and snarl at me. But you will never look at Seth in the wrong way or else I will fuck you up so hard your fucking mothers will be able to feel it in their wombs. Now, get the fuck off my porch. None of you are welcome here. None of you will ever be welcome here and as soon as you imprint that into your very fucking small minds, the better off we'll all be. Fuck off!" I growled, like, really growled this time and I could feel my body shaking with my anger. This has never happened before and the looks on their faces told me that they were shocked and freaked out by me too. I heard a gasp behind me and saw Seth staring at me wide eyed, as if he was afraid of me.
Something like an ice cold bucket of water was launched over me, in my heart and mind and the trembling stopped abruptly. The look on his face; it made my heart ache. He shouldn't be scared of me. There were so many people who were but never would I want Seth to be one on those people. He shouldn't fear anyone.
"That's it. I warned you, Josh. I fucking warned you. Get the fuck of this property before I call Charlie. I will make him arrest you for trespassing. Get the fuck out of here. Can't you see what you're doing? Does he look remotely ready to play happy families? Fuck, he only found out a short while ago that you're his Dad and he has two fucking brothers. Give him some time to sort his fucking head out." Paul shouted, pushing past me and forcing me behind him as if to protect me. Seth stepped behind me, wrapping his arms around my neck so that his hands splayed out on my chest. Also a sign of protection.
Slight trembles coursed through me every so often as my brother, my real brother, Paul glared silently at the three giving as much as they received from him. Seth's arms tightened around me with every tremor that surged through me and every time, the anger was replaced with something else…something good. Was that…contentment? Happiness? Fucking desire? What the fuck, Chris?
"You're right…You're absolutely right, Paul. We're sorry. We didn't mean to push him but…I've waited for so long-"
"Stop fucking bullshitting, you son of a bitch. If you've waited this long, what stopped you from coming to me sooner? Why the fuck did you turn me away when my Grandmother died when I was seven? I wasn't good enough then, what's changed now?" I snarled in his direction, fighting against Seth's arms slightly in my anger. I froze however when his lips appeared at my ear.
"Chris, Baby, please, calm down. You'll hurt yourself. Please?" he pleaded, softly. I bit back a gasp and shudder as his warm breath coursed down my neck, infiltrating the collar of my shirt tow arm the rest of me. I swallowed hard, closing my eyes as I nodded. I couldn't do this anymore. They needed to leave. "That's it. Just relax."
I hadn't realised that id relaxed into him until he burrowed his face in my neck, sending an involuntary shiver through me at the action. His arms tightened around me as he pulled me tighter to his chest.
"I will explain myself, Chris. I promise you that but I've done enough damage for one night. When you're ready to talk just…come find me. Anytime, anywhere and we'll talk, okay?" Josh told me, slightly begging. I stayed silently with my eyes closed but the swoosh of the door and the abrupt cut off of the breeze told me someone had closed the door.
"Take him into the living room. I need to call Jake. You gonna be alright with him?" Paul asked and I assumed he was speaking to Seth. I felt him nod into my neck, murmuring his confirmation. Then I was being led towards the living room. I kept my eyes closed, letting him guide me. Funny, it almost felt like I trusted him. Did I…trust him? The question sent a jolt of surprise through me as I realised that, yes, I did trust him. When the fuck had that happened?
"Shh, Chris, I got you. Just calm down for me, yeah?" Seth's warm, soothing voice whispered into my ear and I was shocked to find that I had to fight off a shiver at its sound. I felt the couch cushions at the back of my knees and slowly, Seth guided me down onto it, instantly taking the seat beside me without ever taking his hands away from me. My eyes were still closed as I flopped my head back against the couch, suddenly exhausted. Seth's hand began to stroke down my arm in a soothing gesture and fuck, it was working. His other arm extended across the back of the couch behind my head.
Exhaustion finally got the better of me and I felt my mind succumb to sleep under Seth's close, careful watch.
Paul's Point of View
Fuck. Shit! Fucking shit! This can't be happening! No one else was supposed to phase now that the leech 'family' had moved on. Why Chris? He came for a fresh start and all he's received is more grief in his already tortured life. As his big brother, I felt the need to protect him and what a piss poor job I'm doing if he's one flare of anger away from exploding! It wasn't fair, especially not fair on Chris. He didn't deserve this. He was going to think of himself as an even bigger monster now, more dangerous, I just knew it. All the progress he's made is going to wash down the fucking drain.
"Hello?" Jacob's curious, slightly groggy voice asked from the phone after he'd picked up after two three rings.
"Jacob, what the fuck, are you sleeping?" I asked, incredulously as I glanced at the clock. It wasn't even 10 yet.
"Piss off, Paul. I'm with Bella. What's up?" he asked, irritated. I sighed as reality crashed back around me.
"Chris is on the verge of phasing." I stated bluntly, greeted by a heavy silence from his end. I couldn't even hear him breathing. A few seconds of silence passed before Jacob's loud exclamation rattled my ear drum.
"What the fuck? How? When? Why?" he shouted over a small yelp and the rustling of sheets in the background. His heavy footfalls on the hardwood of his room sounded panicked.
"Calm down, Jake. I said on the verge, not that he is." I tried to tell him but he was muttering under his breath, cursing out the Cullens for causing trouble even from Alaska. "Jake!"
"What?" he huffed, startled and annoyed.
"Chris is fine at the minute, okay? I actually think he's sleeping. Seth's with him. He's still human but he was shaking really bad, nearly phasing in his front door." I informed him, worriedly. The rustling stop0ped on the other end and I heard Bella ask what the problem was, her own worry over Jacob's panic showing in her voice. He quickly repeated what I'd said to him and she gasped as he addressed me again.
"You're sure? He's okay? No fursploding tonight? Do you need me to come over or not?" he asked, anxiously. I nodded but then realised he couldn't see that.
"Yeah, he's sleeping. I can see him from here. Dude, he looks exhausted but no, he's fine. Seth's got everything under control so there's no need to come over." I sighed, shaking my head as I watched Seth watch his imprint with a small smile on his face, only frowning when a small one crept onto Chris' face.
"What the fuck happened? Why was he shaking?" Jake asked, suddenly angry. I had the feeling he already knew the gist of it. I sighed, angrily.
"Fucking Josh and his fucking sons. They7 won't give him a break and Chris reached his breaking point tonight. I need them to give him space to think this shit out or else he's gonna phase where he really ought not to be." I expressed, concerned and irritated. Jacob growled.
"I told them to give him a wide berth. For fuck's sake Josh." He snarled, angrily. I stayed silent. "Don't worry, Paul, I'll talk to them, even if I have to order Sam and Embry. They shouldn't be hounding him; they should know how that feels and how he feels right now. Don't worry about."
"Alright, Jake. Well I'll let you get back to Bella. See you."
"Yeah, keep me updated. See ya." He replied before hanging up the phone. I sighed and replaced the receiver back on its latch, tonight's drama catching up on me.
Seth looked up briefly as I entered the living room again silently. I sighed at the sight of my little brother passed out on his couch and knew that if I saw Sam or Embry in the next 24 hours, I would rip them a new one. How dare they upset him/ I warned them damn it! Seth frowned up at me, worriedly.
"Do you need to step out? You're shaking pretty bad." He asked, calmly. I looked down at my hands, realising that I was but hadn't been aware. I sighed and felt the tremors ease up. Seth sighed and looked back down at his imprint. We both watched him for a long time before I got to my feet.
"You want a beer? Sandwich?" I asked but Seth just shook his head, never taking his eyes from Chris' face. I nodded and went to get something to eat and drink. I sat at the island counter, devouring half a dozen sandwiches and a bottle of beer. My mind was racing with everything that happened today and I was going to have to phase soon otherwise I was going to explode right in Chris' kitchen.
My head snapped up as a knock rapped against the door and I almost growled, thinking that one of the three fucks had come back to harass my brother some more. I marched over to the door, yanking it open angrily. I started when I saw my wife stood on the other wise and without so much as a hello, she pushed passed me, rushing into the living room where Chris still remained. She almost crashed down next to him, the opposite side to Seth, with her face marred with worry. I closed the front door and followed, slowly.
At the abrupt dipping of the sofa cushions, Chris startled awake, jerking into an upright position as he scanned the room. Seth reached forward, placing a hand on his chest to calm him and I took a step forward in concern. Rachel was almost crying but I was chalking that up to hormones or some shit.
"Wha-? What's up?" he asked, groggily. Rachel pulled him into a massive hug, almost squeezing the life out of him. He hesitantly hugged her back and despite the situation, I felt pride race through me at his ability to give more displays of affection lately.
"Oh god, Chris! I just heard! How are you? What about your hand? Oh my God, Josh and guys didn't do that did they? I will kick them in the balls if they did. How dare they! My little brother-" Rachel ranted, her anger increasing with every word she spoke, or shouted. Chris' eyes widened until he reached forward to take her hands in his, calming her slightly.
"Rach, seriously, take a breath and calm down, okay? It's not good for the baby. I'm fine, okay? I was just pissed off and don't worry about the hand. I did it at the shop earlier. Just burned. It'll heal." He rushed to reassure her, still holding onto her hands.
She stared at him for a good minute before suddenly bursting out into tears and falling into him. Chris' eyes widened and he looked like a deer caught in headlights as he attempted to calm down and hold my crying imprint. I should have been chomping at the bit to take her from him and calm her down myself but I wasn't, not really. Yeah, sure, I was worried as fuck but both my wolf and I knew that she was capable in Chris' arms, despite the fact that he didn't seem to think so.
"Rach, it's, uh, okay. Don't cry. God, don't cry. Paul, come on." He whined, sending a pleading look my way. I shook my head, smirking as I sat in the armchair opposite him. Seth held in a chuckle as he watched the two and Chris sighed, glaring at the both of us before falling into his duty. He wrapped his arms back around Rachel before pulling her head into his chest. One of his hands subconsciously slid down to lay on her swollen stomach and more pride coursed through me. "Rachel, honestly, I'm perfectly fine. You really need to calm down; think about the baby."
"I'm just glad you're okay. Why didn't you call me earlier?" she sobbed, sniffling into his chest. He sighed.
"I'm sorry. I just…I was distracted, what with the hospital and Paul using my bike, like, I dunno, a stunt bike or some shit. Just so you know, he's never riding it again." He informed her, glaring at me. Seth and I chuckled. "Honestly, I was thinking about letting him ride this new quad bike I was getting but he destroyed all chance of that today."
Both mine and Seth's eyes widened. Mine in excitement and his in horror. I gave a shout of joy whilst he let out a sigh and groan. Rachel laughed finally as she heard us before grinning up at Chris.
"You're getting a quad bike?" both Seth and I shouted in excitement and worry. Chris grinned over at us.
"Hell yeah, I've always wanted one. There's loads of forests and clearings and shit around her too so it's the perfect place to ride one." he replied before smirking at me. "But then, you're not riding it anyway so you'll never get to know, huh?"
I gaped at him. "What? Oh come on, Chris! It was a joke! You don't really think I'd hurt the bike, do you?" I asked, incredulously. He shrugged before smiling down at Rachel, who was wiping her face on her sleeve. He reached over and did it for her, shaking his head.
"You and your hormones, Woman." He teased, making her blush. He chuckled.
"Oh, hello, quad bike. Buying one. Dangerous. No!" Seth shouted, horrified. Chris' gaze snapped to him, looking at him as if he'd grown a second head.
"I think we've established that I like danger, Seth." He chuckled but Seth looked even more horrified at the statement. Chris sighed. "Don't worry so much, Seth. I'll be fine."
"But what if you crash? What if you fall off?" he asked, worriedly. Chris rolled his eyes but didn't comment to him.
"How's about a movie? We could order Chinese too." Chris suggested, looking at me and Rachel. Seth crossed his arms and glared at his imprint, who was effectively ignoring him. I nodded.
"I'm choosing the movie." I exclaimed, glancing at Rachel. The way she'd been all morning, she'd end up choosing a chick flick.
"Oh my God, Chinese sounds soo good right now!" Rachel moaned, biting her lip. God, that woman is going to kill me one of these days. She knows what that does to me. Fuck, it's the whole reason why she's even pregnant!
She rushed off towards the kitchen to find a take-out menu and order anything and everything that she'd possibly want. Seth was sulking on the couch as Chris continued to ignore him and I made my way over to the DVD collection he had spanning over an entire wall of his living room. His collection was mental. Who has this many DVDs/ Chris apparently. The boy needs to get out more, I swear. I decided on 'The Expendibles' as I knew that Rachel would love it because it had that guys from the Transporter movies in it. Chris grinned at my choice of movie. And Seth was still sulking.
"Oh, come on, Pretty Boy. Stop sulking." I teased in a baby voice. He flipped me the bird. Chris laughed.
"Okay, I ordered one of everything, Alright?" Rachel asked, grinning as she came back into the living room. She sank into the cushions next to Chris and I took her other side, sandwiching her comfortably in between us. She smiled up at me and I leaned in for a kiss.
"That's perfectly fine."
"Are we really going to eat that much?" Chris asked, incredulously. I cocked an eyebrow at him.
"Dude, how many times have you been around ours or here even, whilst I've been eating?" I asked, chuckling. He stared at me for a second before rolling his eyes, smirking.
"Okay, I guess you're right." He laughed, turning his attention to the screen as the movie started. Rachel squealed as she realised what we were watching and I rolled my eyes, tightening my arms around her. Fucking Transporter dude's a pain in my ass.
Seth's Point of View
He was so close I could practically touch him but I was afraid that it would freak him out and he'll push me away like a freak. I didn't want to push him. I wanted him to like me, to be his friend but…I was afraid. Call me a pussy, a wimp, a whatever, I don't care but this was my imprint I was talking about. I couldn't just jump straight into this, especially when said imprint was fucking damaged to shit.
I tried to keep my eyes on the movie but they kept gravitating towards him. He seemed captured by the movie enough, his own eyes never leaving the screen. Paul and Rachel were wrapped up in their own little world and they weren't paying any attention the two of us, whispering in small voices that even I couldn't hear. I felt envy shoot through me as I wanted to be where they were; I wanted Chris to hold me like Paul was Rachel. Well, obviously not with his hand on my bloated stomach but you get the point. I wanted that loving embrace from my imprint. I knew by just the mere thought of it that it would feel so fucking good.
My mind cast back to the electric current the surged between us earlier, numerous times. Would it feel like that every time we touched? It was so addictive and I couldn't wait for more skin to skin contact with him. I wanted it right now but I was a coward. Why couldn't I just move my hand over to the one that rested on his lap and curl my fingers around it?
I was startled out of my thoughts when the doorbell rang. Rachel jumped, looking over at the door as Paul chuckled at her. She slapped his chest and I hopped to my feet, hastily.
"I'll get it!" I exclaimed a little louder than what was necessary and the others looked at me weirdly, except Paul, who was smirking at me. I glared at him before taking the money Rachel was offering to me and moving to pay for the food. I could feel Chris' eyes on me until I disappeared from his views and even then…
I quickly paid for the take out, shutting the door behind me as I made my way over to the kitchen. I started at the door however when I saw Chris walking around it, pulling out plates and cutlery, concentrating solely on his job. Only when he caught a glimpse of e in the doorway did he glance up at me with a smile. My heart warmed at the sight and my frozen body thawed. I moved over to the island counter, my eyes never really leaving him as I took the containers out the bag and set them on the counter.
We worked in silence serving the food onto fur individual plates, giving all of us a bit of everything. We'd brush arms occasionally but he recovered from the electrical surge that coursed between us a lot faster than I did. A couple of times, I even had to fight back a few whines.
"What do want to drink?" I asked him through a tight throat. He glanced over at me.
"Just a beer, thanks. Get Paul one too." He replied, smiling. I nodded.
"I want coffee!" Rachel called from the living room.
"No, she doesn't. She wants orange juice." Paul contradicted, followed by their rather loud heated disagreement. I caught Chris' gaze and rolled my eyes, smirking. He laughed and the tension suffocating the kitchen eased off a little. Chris smiled up at me and took the beers from my hands. Our fingers brushed and I had to close my eyes from the shock between us. My eyes opened and I couldn't help the gasp that escaped me when I saw he was staring right back at me.
We stood there still and silent as we stared at each other. His expression was open and curious and I could feel the anxiety and self-consciousness peak inside of me.
"You know…I'm trying to figure you out, Clearwater." His voice startled me and my eyes widened. Figure me out? What did that mean?
"Why? I don't understand." I stuttered, swallowing hard. He smiled.
"I've never met someone quite like you. Of course, I've met Jacob. You're a lot like him but there's something about you I can't quite put my finger on. What could that be?" he asked, musingly. I took a deep breath and shrugged, nervous under his rapt attention.
"Wh-what have you come up with so far?" I asked, glutton for punishment.
He smirked. "You're cute." He shrugged, nonchalantly and I felt my face heat up dramatically.
"I thought you said my habit was cute?" I asked. He chuckled.
"I thought you said that makes you cute?" he contradicted, smirking. I blushed harder and he laughed, picking up two plates of take out and two beers before leaving me standing like a prat in the middle of his kitchen with my mouth open.
He thinks I'm cute. I knew he said I was cute! He tried to deny it but I knew it! The feeling of pride and joy surfaced in me and I grinned widely. My imprint thinks I'm cute. Fuck yes!
"Are you coming in here to watch this or what?" Paul shouted from his seat.
I picked up the two remaining plates along with mine and Rachel's orange juices before rushing into the living room. Both Paul and Chris were smirking in their seats and Rachel was still rapt on the movie as her favourite actor was on the screen. I swallowed thickly before retaking my seat next to Chris. I placed Rachel's juice on the coffee table in front of her before leaning back into the couch. Chris was totally at ease next to me, as if the conversation we'd just shared hadn't happened. I hated his ability to brush things off with ease.
"Here." I said, handing him his plate. He flashed me a large grin before digging into his food, his eyes returning to the TV. I sighed and began to eat too, knowing that I couldn't endure much more of this tonight. All I wanted to do was hold him, or for him to hold me.
Paul sent me a smirk across the couch and all I could think about was…
Fucking lucky bastard.
Haha, lol at Seth's torture! How'd you like it?
Please review!
Sorry it's so short!
Love,
MrsWolfPack
X
