Chapter Ten: Wolfie
Jacob had to stop as they reached the middle of the forest, and he collapsed, Bella on top of him, as they both roared with laughter. Neither of them knew exactly why they laughed so hard; maybe it was nervous giggles or just the fact that they both knew that Charlie was about to walk in and flip a gasket.
"Oh my god," she choked out, trying to stop the spouts of glee at a sudden thought, "what is he going to think of your clothes and my clothes in tiny pieces?" She tried to imagine her father's face at that, but only ended up seeing a dumbfounded Charlie at what must look like ground zero.
Jake's chest jerked both him and Bella as he finally calmed down some. "I don't wanna know. All I know is that I'm too young to wear a cone of shame and become a limping falsetto." Bella giggled against him and looked into his eyes, and the entire fit started over again.
Someone cleared their throat nearby, and Jake went on instant alert. His face slammed shut and all laughter was turned off. His body, so relaxed before, now sprang tense and leapt up to cover Bella's much smaller frame. The growl that had started in his chest died as he saw Sam wearing only a pair of jeans and holding another. A soft grin lightened his face as he tossed the pants to Jacob.
"Why am I not surprised that I got a call from Billy to bring these to you at this early in the morning?" He laughed and Bella turned a bright red.
Jake's face was puzzled. "How did Dad know I'd need them?"
"He must've guessed, after you being gone all night and now warning about a pack meeting beforehand." Sam shrugged. "I figured, when you didn't show up last night for your post, that there was something like that going on. After all, you are new mates." He seemed to think that covered everything.
The other werewolf shook his head as he helped his mate up. Sam noticed that Jake's features were adoring as his gaze drifted over Bella's face, but there was something else—sadness? Fear?
"It's a little more complicated than that, Sam." Deep eyes met and held those of the leader. "Why don't we all get to your place before I start?"
Sam studied Jacob, wondering what could be so important. "That bad, huh?" Jake didn't say anything, just nodded, and his worry kicked up another notch. It was eased a little when Bella's hand reached up to stroke the boy/man's cheek and a soft, giving smile spread over her face. But Sam wasn't completely sure. Jake turned into the hand and closed his eyes. Something seriously bad must've happened, to have him looking like that, he thought, but pushed it aside for the moment. If they were going to be traveling, then Jake doubtless wouldn't want to hear him worrying like an old peahen. He took out the cell phone from a hidden pocket in the pants and started to gather the pack, although a couple of them grumbled. "Now," he added sternly; the feelings of curiosity and alarm spread.
"I'll go on ahead. Catch up soon, alright?" he trotted off towards the trees before disappearing from their sight and shifting.
Jake looked down at Bella tenderly. "Do you think you could handle it if you rode on my back? You know, as a wolf?"
Bella looked like an excited two year old. "You mean I'd get to see you finally? Well, you know what I mean." She rolled her eyes at him when she thought of how that could be taken.
His gaze turned inward, strange. "You already have seen me."
"When?"
"When you died." His words were barely audible, but Bella heard them and heard the emotion behind them.
She didn't know exactly what came over her, just that a sudden surge of… something came over her. Her hands swung out and smacked the center of his chest. It didn't hurt him, but it shocked him enough that he back up a step, trying to make sure she didn't hurt herself. She kept coming, though, and pushed him back several more steps before going toe-to-toe with him and looking straight into his eyes. It would've been funny-her neck was craned as far back as it would go-but the emotion in her eyes stopped any laughter. Love, anger and exasperation all mixed in her large chocolate eyes and he felt proud of her in that moment. Even after everything, she would still stand up and put him in his place. At least, he thought that before she opened her mouth and gave him a royal ass chewing.
"Jacob Daniel Black! Would you quit with the death thing? It was an accident. Those sort of things happen. Just cause you out of the blue changed into a wolf and I died doesn't mean the entire thing was your fault. I could trip down a flight of stairs and die, for Pete's sake! Would that mean that it was my fault I'm clumsy?" Her eyes dared him to argue, but his tongue was stuck in his throat, which had decided to close up.
He felt a weight being lifted off of him and he wrapped his arms around her, picking her off her feet with his embrace tight around her waist. Jake's face buried in the crook of her shoulder and he shuddered once, then relaxed. "Thank you," he whispered.
Bella was shocked by the enormous tension that seemed to leave him. "Jake, how could I ever believe that any of this was because of you? Honey, things like that happen. You have to learn to let yourself off the hook sometime or later. Besides, that's just silly. Now come on, Wolfie, we have a pack to meet." She smiled up at him and he mock-sighed in defeat, while pride and love surged up in him.
"I suppose." He stopped and looked down at her, brow raised. "Wolfie? What the hell kind of name is that for an enormous, flesh-tearing beast?"
She laughed at him and playfully slapped his arm. "It's either that or dog-breath. Take your pick."
His ego shuddered, but he knew she'd call him the latter just to get a rise out of him. In front of his packmates, no doubt. The horror. "Fine," he fake grumbled, but couldn't keep the smile off his face. "You win. Just for that I get to take the… scenic… route."
This caught her attention evilly and he grinned at the suspicion on her face. "Scenic? Shouldn't being able to see my wolf mate turn into 'an enormous, flesh-tearing beast' be enough? Or are you that dull—in color, I mean." She raised her eyebrow at him and had a smug look. Damn. There was no winning with this woman.
"Yeah, yeah. But I intend to get back." He leaned down and nipped her ear, making her jump, and he whispered in her ear. "And don't say I didn't warn you." Bella shivered this time, and he laughed before stepping back and stripping off his pants.
"Jake! What are you—oh. Never mind." She broke off, turning a dull pink. He threw back his head and laughed before tossing the material to her.
"This is not Harry Potter and I am not an emaciated thing on two legs. Just stand back and watch. This is way cooler than any special effects." He made sure he was a good distance away before starting the change. It started as a feathery feeling, a whisper under his skin. The whisper grew to a rush and his blood pumped in the thrill of the phase. Fur slid out of his skin smoothly, his bones melted and formed into a wolf's skeleton. In the blink of an eye he seemed to dissolve from man to wolf, and Bella stared at the beast.
He hadn't been lying; he really was enormous. If she stood on her tiptoes she might come up to his shoulder. He was bigger than a horse, and probably almost as long as her truck. He was… huge. And beautiful. He could grouse about it all he wanted later, but to no avail; he was beautiful. His fur wasn't russet, but the color just between light brown and red, the color shifting into darker browns and reds with white threads sprinkled in. His ears were pricked forward and his eyes-the only thing that stayed completely the same- looked into hers, the depthless black seeming to wait for her reaction.
"Oh Jake, you're still waiting for me to run, aren't you?" The wolf's head jerked up and down. Well, she did run—to him. The giant creature's head bent down as she wrapped her arms around it, burying her face in the fur in between his eyes. "My Jake," she whispered, and kissed the spot before pulling back to look into his eyes. "Now come on, Wolfie. We have to make it back to tell the others what went on while I was in la-la land. And if you think you can take me somewhere else instead, I know the vets in this town. You could wake up wearing the cone of shame one day, and then you'd really be a limping falsetto." She grinned evilly and he whined, tail curling down to protect said assets. "That's what I thought," she laughed, and kissed him again. "Let's go, Jake. The sooner you get this done the easier it will be for me to have my wicked way with you."
The wolf's tail stood straight up and even in this new body she could tell the hopeful expression in his eyes. "After," she said firmly, and his tail tocked back and forth eagerly before he bent down on his front legs. She still had to use his shoulder as leverage to climb up, but it was easier. Her squeal rang through the trees as he suddenly-but fluidly, she noticed- rose to his feet and took off running.
"Jake, you won't get anything if I'm dead of a heart attack before we get anywhere!" Her shout was echoed by a howl that resembled a hoot of laughter as wolf and woman traveled at an outrageous speed through the dense trees.
A/N: Okay, I'm starting to run low on ideas! I know the plotline I want it to go on, but any ideas for following chapters would wonderful! Thank you so much for reading this :) I know how much these notes can be a distraction when you want more story now!
