Chapter Twelve

"Where did you and Jacob disappear to last night?" Sandra asked the second I sat down at their table. It was Saturday afternoon. After sleeping in, I was woken up by my cell phone's constant ringing. Sandra, Jennifer, and Aimee bombarded me with texts, calls, and voicemails asking for details from last night.

"Oh my gosh!" Aimee exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand. She leaned in closer and lowered her voice. "Did you two…"

I scrunched face in confusion. Then it dawned on me. "No! No, no, no! We didn't…do that," I cried.

"Then where did you go?" Jennifer asked.

"Who cares? If they didn't do it, why does it matter?" Sandra replied.

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "It's not always about sex, Sandra." She turned to me. "So?"

"We bumped into Matt and Derek and a bunch of other guys," I said.

"Don't tell me; Matt started the tough guy bit?"

I nodded. "And he was drunk." The girls groaned.

"He's an idiot."

"I hope Jacob kicked his ass," Aimee muttered. We all smiled. Aimee was a total sweetheart so her saying that was amusing.

"Did he?" Sandra asked, showing interest again.

I shrugged. "A couple of Jacob's friends showed up in time and broke it up. One of the chaperones started heading over so we took off. I don't know what happened to Matt and his friends though. But I do know Derek was able to run off too."

"I wish I had been there," Sandra said. "Jacob's friends are so hot!"

"Jacob is hot," Jennifer said.

"I know, but he's with Jade."

"He is not with me. We are just friends," I said defensively.

"With benefits?" Jennifer joked.

"It's not a benefit if you're not doing it," Sandra countered. "Did you two even kiss yet?"

"No, because friends do not just kiss each other," I replied.

"Seriously, Jade, do you like Jacob?" Aimee asked, looking me in the eye.

"He's a great guy. He's nice and sweet. But we're just friends."

"Yeah, but you want to be more than just friends, right?"

"No," I said, but I looked away.

"Whatever," Sandra rolled her eyes. "You're so hung up on Jacob that you don't even notice the other guys that like you!"

"You make it seem like I'm always with Jacob!" I cried. They gave me a look. "I'm not!"

"Then tell me this," Sandra said, pointing her fork at me. "Did you go home after the bon fire last night?"

I didn't answer which made my friends smile at one another knowingly.

"Second question, who were you with last night?" They all started laughing when I didn't answer again.

"Alright, look, honestly? I like his company."

"His company or him?" Aimee challenged.

The small smile that formed on my lips was enough of an answer for my friends.

The following day I sat on the couch, watching the TV but not really paying attention. I'd been this way for the few hours, impatiently waiting for Jacob. We made plans for today, but Jacob said he had things to take care of and didn't know when he'd be by to pick me up. I hope it was soon; I was anxious to see him. After my lunch with the girls, I realized how I really felt about Jacob. I guess I had known it all along but never admitted to myself. I wasn't looking to fall for him, let alone anyone here. I guess he sort of just crept up on me.

My knees bounced up and down as I looked up at the clock. It was almost four o'clock. I sighed just as the door bell rang. I squealed to myself and jogged to the front door. I took a deep breath and smoothed my hair before opening the door.

"Hi," I greeted, trying not to sound too excited.

"Hey, sorry I took so long."

"It's fine."

"You ready to head out?" I nodded and stepped outside, closing the door behind me. Jacob waited till I caught up before walking beside me.

"What are we-" I stopped as I saw his motorcycle parked at the end of the driveway. "This is a pleasant surprise."

"Yeah, I thought it was about time we went for another ride. And I promise, no rain this time."

I smiled. "I don't know. I kind of enjoyed the rain."

"You mean you enjoyed having my arms around you." My mouth formed an O in surprise. I felt a blush creep to my cheeks. "I'm joking," he said. I let out a small laugh. He held out a helmet. "Don't argue, you're wearing it."

I rolled my eyes but took it from him. I put the helmet on and then hopped on the motorcycle. I scooted up as Jacob took the place behind me.

"You ready?" he asked, turning the motorcycle on. I signaled with a thumbs up and we were off. We were headed to First Beach. Soon I realized we were headed to the same place we went to the first time I rode with him. He slowed down as we reached the dead end. He pulled over to the side and cut off the engine. I pulled off the helmet and placed it in front of me. I felt the weight shift as Jacob got off. I swung my leg over as he offered his hand to help me off.

I looked towards the beach. I smiled at the memory of being here the first time. I felt a tug on my hand.

"Come on," Jacob said nodding towards the forest.

"The forbidden forest?" I asked in mock shock. He rolled his eyes then smiled. I let him lead the way, my hand clasped in his. I had trouble keeping up with his long strides. Not to mention the fact that I wore sandals, thinking that it was going to be another beach day. I keep stumbling over fallen leaves and branches.

"Here, get on," Jacob said. I jumped on his back. "Maybe I should've given you a heads up on where we were headed.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"But then it wouldn't have been a surprise."

"If you wanted me to finally see the forest, you could've just taken me to the one right beside my house," I joked. He laughed and shook his head.

"Just wait," he told me. After a few more minutes of hiking up the steep slope, Jacob stopped and had me jump off. He took my hand again and pulled me forward.

I gasped at what I saw. We were on top of a cliff. That explained the steep slope. The ocean shimmered under the setting sun's light. There was a small island nestled in the water. The deep green trees added to the beauty of it all.

"Wow, this is…" I trailed off, still in awe.

"It's my special place," I heard Jacob say.

"It's so…beautiful," I said breathlessly.

"Yeah, I know." I looked over to smile at him and saw that he was already looking at me. He gave me a smile, making me blush. "I come here whenever I need an escape from all the craziness that comes with the whole shape shifter deal. I just sit here and pretend that I'm…normal."

I nodded. "I know what you mean."

"You do?" I looked back at him. He cocked an eyebrow at me.

"Yeah. I mean, I can relate to the whole needing an escape part. Not the pretending to be normal part."

"But you're not normal. You hang out with wolves," he reminded me.

I laughed. "True. That's not the norm, but it has been for me for almost the past year."

Jacob frowned. "Wait, you've hung out with wolves before?" he asked confused. I bit my lip and looked away. He took me by the shoulders and gently turned me to face him. "Were they the same ones that attacked you?"

I didn't answer and still didn't look him in the eye. He let out a frustrated sigh and dropped his hands, clenching them into fists. He turned around and kicked a rock off the ledge.

"Jacob…" I said quietly. He whipped around.

"Are you ever going to tell me anything?" he yelled. I was stunned that he raised his voice at me. I took a couple of steps back as he made his way towards me. "Or are you just going to keep me in the dark?"

My mouth seemed to forget how to form words. He turned to leave but I grabbed onto him. "Jake," was the only thing I was able to say.

"It seems like you're still hiding something," Jacob said, not looking at me. The anger was still evident in his voice. I felt his arm begin to tremble. "I opened up to you because I didn't want to keep anything from you and I wanted you to trust me. I wanted you to know me completely." The trembling was getting worse. I let go of my hold on him. "I thought you'd at least do the same."

He began to walk away. I was about to stop him again when he pulled his shirt over his head and threw it on the ground. He ran off into the woods. He was phasing. I remained standing at my spot, still stunned from Jacob's outburst and yelling. I brought my hand to my forehead and used my palm to massage small circles on it. There was nothing to do but to just wait.

I sat on the ground and leaned back against the log and waited for him. The alone time gave me a chance to admire the beauty of the sunset's rays glow over the green trees and blue water. Though, the beauty didn't seem as breath taking now that Jacob wasn't with me to admire it. I sighed at the thought of Jacob. I didn't want to think about what just happened, but I knew I couldn't just sweep it under the rug. He was upset. He was mad and he had every right to be. I really wasn't being fair to him. Even though I wasn't too keen about him when we first met, we had grown to be good close friends over the past few months. I even started to develop feelings for him. He trusted me not only with his secret, but with his friends', his pack's, and his family's.

I don't know how long I sat there, absorbed in my thoughts, but the sound of footsteps brought me back to reality. He was back.

"I should get you home," was all he said, his voice monotone. I got up and dusted the dirt off my pants. He turned around and headed down the cliff. I ran and grabbed his hand.

"Jacob, I'm sorry." He stopped for a second and then turned to face me. He studied me for a second, looking conflicted.

"No, I'm sorry," he finally sighed. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."

"Stop, you're right. I'm doing to you what Brett did to me."

"Brett?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I took a deep breath. "My ex-boyfriend." There was a few seconds of silence. Then Jacob narrowed his eyes.

"He was a werewolf?" I nodded. He snatched his hand away from mine. "Was that why you broke up with him?" I crossed my arms as I looked away. "I thought you it was because he cheated on you."

"He did and that was one of the reasons, not the main reason…" I trailed off. Jacob shook his head. He looked ready to storm off again. "Jacob! Please, just let me explain. I promise to tell you everything, okay?" Once the words left my mouth, I knew I couldn't take them back.

Jacob finally nodded his head. He made his way past me and sat where I previously sat. I followed and sat beside him. I took a deep breath and took a minute to sort out my thoughts.

"Well?" Jacob said impatiently.

"Well," I began. I didn't know how to go about telling him everything. Should I start with Brett and then the werewolves? Do I leave out the part about Conor? No, I promised him everything. I decided that telling him what he wanted to know would be best. "What do you want to know?"

He took a second to think. "Why did you really break up with your ex-boyfriend?"

I sighed. "Because I was scared of him."

"Why? Was he the one who attacked you?"

"No, this girl who had a thing for him did. I was scared of him and his pack."

"Basically you were scared because they were werewolves," Jacob said.

"Yeah, kind of," I replied.

"Either you were or you weren't, Jade!"

"Okay, fine!" I cried. "Yes, I was scared of them because they were werewolves. I was attacked by one of them and they were the last ones that I knew my brother was with before he disappeared!"

"You think they had something to do with your brother disappearing?"

"Honestly? I think they killed him," I said. "It's been three months, Jacob. Not one single shred of evidence. I last saw Conor with Lukas and his friends after school. The security cameras last caught Conor heading out into the forest where the wolves usually ran. It was them." I shook my head. "I blamed them. I went to Brett and told him what I thought happened to Conor and he told me to drop it. That was when I realized that he was one of them. I called him a monster and broke up with him."

"If you thought he was a monster, then you think I'm-"

"No, I don't think that about you, Jacob!" I told him.

"What's the difference, Jade?"

"You didn't kill my brother!" I covered my face with my hands. I felt Jacob's arm slide around my shoulders. He moved closer until he was holding me in his arms.

"I'm sorry, Jade," he said softly.

"It's okay," I muttered into his chest.

"I shouldn't have pushed you to talk about this."

"No, it's fine," I said, looking up at him. "You deserve to know everything."

"There's more?" he asked.

I nodded. "Eventually the entire pack found out that I knew. They weren't happy. They became especially unhappy when I started accusing them of having something to do with Conor's disappearance. The animosity towards me got so bad that my parents wanted to leave. The wolves didn't want that because they were afraid I'd tell their secret."

"How'd you manage to leave then?"

"They made a deal. My parents would stay behind and I would be able to leave. So that if I ever told anyone about them…"

"Your parents… They wouldn't."

I scoffed. "That's why they are monsters. You don't know what they're capable of."

"That explains your dislike of wolves," Jacob commented with a small smile.

"Yeah, but I heard shape shifters weren't so bad." His smile grew bigger. I turned to watch the sunset. After a while, I turned back to Jacob. "Sometimes I still look over my shoulder to see if I'm being watched. I never met the entire pack so there's always that thought in the back of my head that they could be anyone and be anywhere, watching me. Just waiting for me to slip up so they can hurt my parents." I didn't even realize my tears until Jacob wiped them away.

"Hey, don't think like that," he said, pulling me close again. "They're just bluffing. They possibly can't be that bad."

"I just don't want to do anything that could end up hurting my parents."

"Isn't your dad the police chief? Didn't you say he had a few officers that he trusted?"

"Yeah, plus we have our neighbors and a few others who promised me they'd keep them safe."

"See, they'll be safe," Jacob reassured me.

"But still. If anything were to happen, I'd rather it be me than them."

"Don't say that," Jacob said, sound pained. "I don't think I can deal if you ever got hurt, or worse." I buried my face into his chest, wanting to hide the blushing in my cheeks. "If only I could meet those wolves…"

I laughed. "I'd like to see that. They're puny little dogs compared to you guys." Jacob smiled, obviously pleased with what he just heard.

"Yet they still managed to hurt you," he said, darkly. "I can't believe they'd attack an innocent." I didn't reply. "You know I'd never let anything happen to you right?" he said softly. I slowly nodded my head. "I would never let anyone from my pack or Sam's pack hurt you. I would never hurt you."

My breath caught in my throat, my heart started pounding faster, and I felt the tingling sensation in my stomach again. I snuggled closer to him. I closed my eyes and let the warmth of Jacob's body surround me.

"Why do I feel so safe with you?" I asked quietly. He pulled away just enough to look me in my eyes. "Because that's what I'm here for: to protect you and keep you safe. No matter what." I felt chills run up and down my spine as he said this. I nodded. He looked out to the ocean. The sun was long gone and the sky was dark blue.

"I should get you home. It's starting to get dark and I have patrol in a bit."

He had me hop on his back as we descended back down to where his motorcycle was. When we got to the house, he helped me off the motorcycle and I instantly clung onto him. Just as quickly, he wrapped an arm around me and walked me to the door.

"Thanks for sharing your special place with me."

"Of course," he said with a smile.

I stood on the top step and hugged him like I always did. This time, our hug lasted longer than usual. We pulled apart, but I kept my arms wrapped around his neck. I looked into his chocolate brown eyes and I suddenly felt different. Rather than letting go and stepping inside the house, I felt myself wanting to get closer to him. The next thing I knew, I was leaning in until his lips met mine.

I pulled away, surprised at what I just did. Jacob looked as surprised as I felt. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I-I should get inside. Good night," I said quickly turning around and walking inside. I closed the door behind me and leaned against it. My heart was beating pretty fast and I evened my breathing to stop from blushing. I slowly turned around and tiptoed to look through the peep hole. Jacob was still standing in front of the door, the surprised expression gone from his face. Instead, his face held an expression of pure happiness. He smiled as he touched his lips with his fingers. I smiled.

"Good night, Jade," he said, looking directly at the peep hole. He waved before turning back towards his motorcycle. I ducked as if he had seen me. My cheeks were back to being hot and red, but my smile was still there. After watching him ride off, I sprinted up the stairs and into my room. I flopped down on the bed and just laid there, staring at the ceiling. I replayed everything in my head, my smile getting bigger when I remembered how Jacob smiled after I kissed him. I kissed Jacob. It was the boldest move I had ever done, but it just felt right.

A knock on my door brought me back from cloud nine.

"Jade," Aunt Cor said, poking her head in. "I've been calling you."

"Sorry," I said, sitting up.

"Good day?" she asked, sitting on my bed in her usual spot.

I nodded excitedly causing her to laugh.

"What'd you and Jake do?"

"I kissed him," I blurted. Aunt Corinne's eyes widened in surprise and then she smiled.

"Finally! I knew you liked him!"

"Yeah, I do," I said, my mind drifting off to think about Jacob again. A thought came to me. "Do you think he likes me?"

She nodded. "I think so."

"You think?" I frowned. "What if you think wrong? What if he just wants to be friends?" I asked. I began to panic. "What if he doesn't like me? And I kissed him! I don't want things to be weird between us if he doesn't like me like that!"

"Jade, calm down! Let me rephrase what I said. I know for a fact that Jacob likes you." I still wasn't convinced. "He has for a while now."

"He has?" I asked, surprised. It was a nice thought that all this time Jacob had liked me. If only I had known sooner…then again, if I had known he liked me before I found out he was a shape shifter then it would have been like the whole Brett thing all over again. Realization dawned on me. I know understood why Jacob told me his secret first. I smiled, appreciating him even more.

"Yeah, ever since he first met you. Like love at first sight," Aunt Corinne sighed. I laughed.

"When we first met? At the police station?" I asked. "He barely even looked at me!"

"I meant at the dinner," Aunt Cor said rolling her eyes. "Billy told me that Jacob couldn't stop talking about you after that."

"Even Billy knew?"

"Everyone knew, except for you!" she exclaimed, her eyes twinkling in amusement.

"It all makes sense now," I said, remembering all the times the guys teased me and Jacob. I always thought they were just picking on him since they picked on one another a lot.

"He likes you, Jade," Aunt Cor said, placing a hand on my leg. "He was so miserable before you came along and the second he finally laid eyes on you…all that misery just went away. You made him so happy again and back to his old self. We all appreciate that."

"You make it sound like he was depressed or something."

"Close to it," she said. "He ran away a few months before you got here. He was only back for a couple of weeks when you came."

"Why was he depressed?" I asked.

"Uh…you know, me and my big mouth," Aunt Cor said, more to herself than me. "I think I've said too much, Jade. I don't think Jacob wanted me to tell you any of that… It really should've been him."

"What-"

"No! No more! My big mouth is closed! I am shutting it and locking it! Throwing the key away!" she cried dramatically. She quickly got up and exited my room before I could ask anymore questions.

I stared after her in confusion, trying to make sense of everything just told me. It sounded simple enough: something happened to make Jacob depressed enough to run away. Then he returned and remained depressed. Then I moved here and we met and he was happy again. I wondered why he was depressed in the first place. I was curious. I couldn't just ask him and bring up his period of depression. I decided that I wouldn't ask and would just suffer with my curiousity. The fact that I helped him get over his depression should be enough for me. I made him happy and got him back to his old self. All because I just showed up to that stupid dinner that I didn't want to go to in the first place.

I laughed to myself remembering how rude I thought he was. He didn't even look at me when we first were introduced. Then during the dinner he finally looked at me and… He finally looked at me. Like love at first sight. Imprinting.

These thoughts came at me all too fast. I shook my head and back tracked. Jacob and I met at the police station. I'm pretty sure he looked at me at some point and I just didn't notice. Then during dinner, he didn't glance my way until he was about to sit down. I recalled how he fell after he looked at me. I remembered him staring at me with some kind of expression on his face.

He imprinted on me.

AN: Dun, dun, dun! Jade has finally figured it out. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? What do you think her reaction will be?