Chapter 14: Face to Face
Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight
Wasn't that Neah's SUV out there in his yard? What the hell was he doing here? Jacob was bristling. If that guy thought he could punch the wolf boy out, he was sadly mistaken.
Jacob yanked on the door handle before Daniel even had a chance to knock, and stared back at his nearly mirror image. It seemed a little freaky.
After a few awkward seconds, Daniel said, "You're Jacob, right?"
"Yeah … so?" Okay, Jake, get ready, here it comes.
Surprisingly, the next words out of his mouth were unexpected. "Don't worry; I'm not here to fight with you."
"I'm not worried." Boy, was that ever an understatement.
"Okay … good. I just came to La Push to say goodbye to Leah. It's obvious that she's in love with you, or she would be with me now, in Ozette. I can't deny that fact, but I'm warning you, if I ever find out you've mistreated her in any way, I'll be back … and the next time you see me, will be a day you'll sorely regret."
"You can ease your mind, Neah. Lee is the whole world to me. I'd rather die than hurt her."
"Glad to hear it. Well, that's all I came to say. Oh, and by the way, whether you believe it or not, I really was in love with that girl."
"I know."
Jacob and Leah walked hand in hand toward the tree line and the waiting pack.
"So, I guess Neah bowed out, huh?"
Leah halted. "How did you know?"
"He came to the house and told me."
She placed her hand on his shoulder, a look of horror on her face. "Oh god, please tell me that you didn't rough him up."
"I didn't, but he said he'd rough me up if I didn't treat you right. Like he could take me, phft!"
As they got closer, Paul pointed at the couple, and yelled, "Well, will ya look at that—here comes the poodle with her trainer."
Pumping his fist, Quil interjected, "Woohoo! Looks like our Alpha brought the beta home."
Embry slapped him on the back. "Hey good one, Quil. They're the alphabetas," he brayed.
"You're getting as corny as Jake," Paul groused, slamming back against a tree in disgust.
"Ah, you're just sore 'cause you lost the bet. I told ya, I told ya. No way Jake was gonna come home without her. You and Quil both owe me ten bucks apiece."
Leah grinned as Jacob commanded, "All right, gang. Enough gum flappin', let's get to patrolling."
Ever since Leah rejoined the pack, her Alpha ran closely alongside his beta, and when the wolves split up at the change of shift, Jacob and Leah would playfully nip at each other, and bump noses, tumbling in a dance of claws and fur. He would lick her muzzle, neck and ears. Once, they even did some tongue-tangling. They seemed almost like a cute human couple, especially when he threw a front paw over her shoulder, in a show of possession.
The patrols went on for two weeks without incident, then one afternoon in the middle of February, Paul stopped dead in his tracks, sniffing the air. "There it is again. You guys smell that? It's blood, I tell ya."
Embry sidled up to him. You're right. I smell it too.
Jacob and Leah were in the lead, and trying to find the source of the blood, he circled her as the scent got stronger. He lit upon the traces of red near her hind quarters. Lee, you're bleeding.
Crap, I must've scratched myself when we ran through that patch of holly. Don't worry about it Jake, I heal fast.
A week later, the wolves were more restless than usual, including their Alpha. What the hell was going on?
Leah went behind a tree to relieve herself, and without warning, the rest of the pack went crazy, sniffing and running after her. Jacob was hit between the eyes with the facts of life. His Leah, without a doubt, was in heat.
In an Alpha timbre, his thoughts rang out. You can just forget it, guys. Patrol's over. Everyone phase, and go home, now!
He nudged Leah's flank. Leah—stay the way you are. You're coming with me.
What is it? she whimpered.
Let's just say that mating season has started.
Whaaaat? She plunked her rear end down onto the forest floor.
"Yeah … I won't let the other wolves near you, so I'm going to mark you as mine. I can't take a chance of one of them trying anything.
You've got to be kidding. It would be suicide for that to happen.
I don't know … it's strange what desire can do to a person. You saw how wild the pack acted. Even I'm having a hard time with this situation. Paul, or even Quil could challenge my claim, so I've gotta mark you now. C'mon, Lee.
The pack had already broken up, and Leah and Jacob ran ahead to a nearby clearing.
I need you to lie down for me.
Do I have a choice?
Yeah, you do. He barked out a laugh. You can fight off the rest of the wolves for the next few weeks, or let me mark you.
I see your point. Leah lowered her belly to the ground.
Jacob padded around her several times, then licked her ear and neck, whimpering softly. As carefully as he could, her Alpha bit down on her shoulder only enough to break the skin. When he finished, Leah stood on her four legs shaking out her fur.
Suddenly, both their ears pricked up, as they heard the distinct sound of howling in the distance. It was definitely not their pack—and they were heading toward the couple.
Jacob pushed her forward with his nose. Go, go, go. I'll hold them off.
Jake, don't be a hero. Those are not shapeshifters. You can't reason with them. They're real, live wolves.
Please Leah, don't argue with me. Just go.
I'm not leaving here unless you go with me.
Jeez … okay, then let's book. And don't you dare slow down. I'll catch up soon enough. We'll phase back when we're outta range.
They ran non-stop, reaching their designated territory. The other wolves wouldn't dare cross over the perimeter, would they? The outskirts of La Push loomed before them, and Jacob felt it safe enough to shed his wolf persona and become human Jacob Black. Leah did the same.
"That settles it. You are not patrolling with us, until puppy season is over. It's too freakin' dangerous. I can't protect you from that other pack, plus our own. And no one, man or beast is taking you away from me.
"C'mere, honey." Jacob folded her in his arms, his heart pounding, and breathed into her hair. "Jeez, that scared the crap outta me."
LPOV:
Was it her imagination, or was Jacob getting even more handsy than usual? They were on his couch at the Black's, watching a movie—correction, trying to watch a movie. He was breathing down her neck, his hands creeping under her shirt. She was doing a little bit better at controlling herself, but even her willpower was starting to crumble. She wanted to ease into this relationship, not blast her way in like he was.
Jacob's warm, full lips were inches away from hers, ugh … he was making this so difficult. She couldn't help responding, and took the bait.
In a flash, he had her pinned beneath him, hands still roving into new territory.
Leah, was pulling away. "Jake … please. Stop."
Panting, Jacob sat up, freeing her.
They were both sitting up now. "What happened to our agreement, to take this slow?"
"It's not me; it's my damn wolf. Anyway, that was your agreement, honey, not mine." He slumped against the backrest, his head hitting the cushion.
"Jeez, Leah, you're killing me. My wolf is dyin' to claim you. I don't know how much more of this I can stand. This wolf has been ready to take over, ever since you went into heat. Even in human form, I can smell it on you. It's driving me crazy."
"You think this is easy for me? I'm hanging on by my fingernails. It's so bad, that I've been having dreams about you."
Jacob's eyebrows rose an inch.
"Yeah, that kind."
"So how can I fix this?"
"No more movies—I mean it."
"Awww!" he whined. "I like watching movies with you."
"That's just it, Jake. You're not watching the movie; you're putting the moves on me.
"I hate to say it, but maybe we should give each other a little space, until mating season is over."
"Oh, yeah, there's so much space here in La Push."
"I can always go back to Ozette."
"That's not funny, Lee. You take that back."
She smiled at the frown on his face. "You know as well as I do, that I could never leave here without you."
"Damn straight.
"I can't stay away from you, Lee. I'll die."
"I can't stay away from you, either. We have to think of something."
"Yeah … something."
Leah stood up.
Jacob grabbed her hand, trying to get her to sit back down again. "Where you goin'?"
"I'm going home. There's too much temptation here for one night. I need a cold shower."
"We've got plenty of cold water."
Her eyes rolled up to meet the ceiling.
He stood beside her, loosening her hand. "Sometimes I hate being such a guy," he grumbled, as he went to see her out the door.
JPOV:
"You mean you've never used a bow and arrow before?"
Leah looked back at him quizzically. "No—Why would I?"
"Jeez, Lee, what kind of Native American are you?"
"Hey, Hiawatha, I can shoot the eye out of a crow with a rifle at a hundred paces, so who needs arrows?"
"Oh yeah? Well, if I ever see the need to blind a crow, I'll look you up, Pocahontas.
"Now, c'mere, so I can show you how it's done."
Jacob maneuvered her so that her back was situated flush against his chest, his cheek pressed to hers. He murmured instructions into her ear, then nocked an arrow onto the bow string. One of his hands gripped hers on the handle, the other, over her index and middle finger on the string. He swallowed hard, attempting to zero in on the target, but all he could think about was how close she was to him.
It was a struggle to pull the string into position right under her eye. He let her release the string and the arrow flew, but missed the target pitifully.
Laughing, he pointed to the red bulls-eye. "It's supposed to hit the target.
"It fell to earth, I know not where," he quoted.
She slapped at his arm. "Well, if you'd quit blowing in my ear, I might be able to focus on that damn target."
They tried together several more times, but their concentration was dismal at best. Better luck next time.
Leah carried the quiver of arrows, and Jacob put them in the back of the Rabbit, along with the bow. Archery 101 was a total bust. They were both way too distracted, and left Uncle Omni's ranch, on their way back home.
They passed a seldom used dirt road on Omni's acreage. Jacob did a double take and braked abruptly, turned the wheel, and went back to the entrance. He pulled onto the trail, and when he was sure they were out of view from the main highway, he stopped the car, and killed the engine.
"What the hell are you doing, Jake."
He leaned back into the bucket seat. "I'm done. I can't hold back any longer. Take your clothes off; we're goin' for a run."