When they got home, Cerise walked in and sighed. But the relief was short lived. Her house reeked.
"Yeah, sorry, I have some thing that'll help." Jake said, holding up an aerosol spraying device.
"We'll need something stronger." She said, walking over to the kitchen.
She got out a bottle of bleach and began to throw it every where, scrubbing and washing the house. When she was done, she sat up and sniffed. Her house was clean. She sighed and looked around. It looked so empty. She stood up and called Jake.
"Yeah," he said, coming into sight.
He must have been cleaning the sitting room.
"Where are all the things you packed away?" she asked, rolling up her sleeves.
"I think maybe you should wait a little before you unpack them." He said.
She looked at him. He was denying her the things she loved. She felt the anger bubble up from the core of her body and she felt her skin give way to fur. She fell over forward landing with heavy paws on her yellow wood floors.
"Careful the floors." He said, seeing her claws eager to rip something to shreds.
She looked down and saw the paws. She stopped and calmed down. She phased back. Her clothes laid at her feet, ripped to shreds.
"Damn it, my only pair of jeans." She said, picking up the shreds.
"Don't worry; I lost many pairs of shoes like that." He smiled.
He walked up to her and took her in his arms. He hugged her and she grasped him around his waist. He hugged her tightly. He didn't have to worry about hurting her now.
"It gets easier." He whispered to her, kissing her on top of her head.
"I hope so." She said, kissing the side of his arm facing her.
He held her at arms length.
"That's why we should wait a little." He laughed.
She broke her mask and laughed a little at him.
"Okay," she said.
She felt the anxiousness building up in her again.
"I just wish I could relax." She said, rubbing her arms.
He smiled at her wickedly.
"What?" she asked.
"I have an idea." He said, leading her up to their room.
"Jake, I'm really not in the mood right now." She said as he pulled her into their room and closed the door.
He sat her on the edge of the bed and went to his closet.
"You will be." He said, taking out a shiny little metal box.
He came and sat next to her and opened it. The strong smell of oils filled the room.
"Now, black pepper or rose?" he asked, holding the bottles up.
"Rose please." She said, taking it from him.
He put the box down on the floor and took the bottle from her and opened it. He dropped a few drops into his hands and rubbed them together.
"Lie on your stomach." He said to her and she lay down next to him on her stomach.
His warm sleek hands ran up her spine. She felt her muscles relax, but not because of the oil. This was an old trick. Rose was an amorous oil. He was buttering her up, and she didn't mind. He rubbed her back up and down and sideways.
"Better?" he asked her.
She looked over her shoulder at him.
"Where did you learn this?" she asked him.
"Google." He said, smiling at her.
She felt all her knots and kinks coming undone. His warm strong hands kneading them out as he rubbed. He stopped suddenly and threw the duvet over her.
"Feel better?" he asked, getting under it and holding her close to him.
"Much. Thank you." She said, kissing him on his lips.
His breath was hot and moist. He gently moved her lips with his, slipping his tongue into her mouth. There was a distinct smell to it, sugary, tempting, and seductive. She guessed it smelled different to vampires. She felt him gently push her over onto her back. There was something pricking at her mind.
"Wait, stop." She said, pushing him away from her.
He stopped and looked at her.
"Do I have to get a tattoo now?" she asked.
He sighed and looked at her right upper arm.
"Well, you are a werewolf." He said, rubbing her arm.
"I wonder why I only had to bite you once?" he asked, drifting off course.
"But yes, you do." He said.
She pushed him up and she sat up.
"Wow, my first tattoo." She said, looking at her right arm and tried to envision what it would look like.
"Who did your tattoo?" she asked.
"Well, the alpha normally does it. Sam did mine." He said, looking at his.
"So I guess I have to do yours." He said, looking at her.
She pulled her legs up underneath her and held her knees.
"Have you ever done one?" she asked him.
"No, but apparently it's engrained in the alpha. So I should be able to do it." He said, touching her arm.
"I can ask Sam to do it?" he asked her.
"No, no, please you do it." She said, taking his hand and kissing it.
"Can we do it now?" she asked.
"The things are at Sam's house." He said, looking at her, and then gesturing toward the Rez with his thumb.
"Then go get it. There's plenty of time still." She said, pushing him gently.
He got off and walked to the door.
"You sure?" he asked her.
She got up and walked over to him.
"I want to be in your pack, my days of being a lone wolf is over." She said, kissing him. She pushed him into the wall. By his reaction, it was the first time a woman had pushed him around. He broke the kiss and looked astonished at her. Then he smiled. He leaned down for another kiss. She pushed him away.
"I'll be waiting," she said, walking over to his closet.
She pulled a baseball shirt out and pulled over her head.
"They say the sexiest thing a woman can wear is her man's team uniform. Seeing as fur isn't in," she said unbuttoning the top three buttons, lying on the bed.
"They were right." He said, walking over to the bed.
He leaned over and kissed her. She pushed him away.
"Focus, Jacob, tattoo." She whispered to him.
She pushed him towards the door. He looked at her, then at the Rez, hesitating.
"Tick, tock." She said.
He rushed out the door, down the stairs and out the front door. She got up and walked to the window and saw the big russet wolf running down the driveway, into the woods. She smiled and went to go lie down on her bed.
She began to drift off when she heard the door open and Jake come up the stairs. She sat up and watched as he walked into the room.
"Wow, that was fast." She said, sitting up.
"Ten minutes. Sam gave me a crash course." He said, putting the bag on the bed.
"I must have dozed off." She said, rubbing her head.
He smiled and sat next to her on the bed, holding up a backpack of things.
"All that, it's so much," she gasped with the words.
"Yeah, it's the old fashioned way. No needles and things." He said opening the bag and looking in. He pulled out a sharp ended stick.
"Ah, that's no so bad." She sighed.
He smiled and unbuttoned his shirt on her and pulled it off.
"When I'm halfway through, you'll be begging for the needles." He said, reaching into the bag again.
He pulled out a little silver square. He ripped it open and took out the alcohol swab. He gestured for her arm and she turned so it was closer to him. He rubbed it up and down quickly over the top of her right arm. When it was dry, he threw it across the room into the trashcan. He looked at her, stopping digging in the bag.
"Are you sure you want me to do this?" he asked.
She was nervous too. It was her first tattoo and she had seen some of her friends get them, with all the latest high tech stuff, and it reduced them to crying. But she wanted to be in Jake's pack, and she wanted the mark to show it. She trusted him.
"Yes." She smiled.
He swallowed hard and looked back at the bag. He took out a small bottle of black ink looking stuff.
"Don't know what it is, but it works." He said, unscrewing the lid.
The smell filled the room. A delicate smell of burnt wood, dryness like ashes. There was a very subtle smell of the woods too.
"Ashes?" she said, sniffing the air.
"Yeah, probably." He said, dipping the stick into the bottle.
He pulled it out after a few seconds. Cerise watched as a small drop dripped off the end.
"Ready?" he looked at her.
She nodded and looked away. She felt him take her upper arm in his hand. She held her breath for the first prick. She felt the sharp edge of the stick pierce her skin. She screamed and tried to pull away but Jacob held her arm firmly. She wasn't nearly strong enough to pull away from him. She gasped as the ashes stung her flesh like they were still on fire.
"The ashes leave the wound open longer so we can get it in." he explained after while.
She was quiet now, biting her fist. The tears were rolling down her face in steady streams. She felt quite pathetic. She tried to imagine Jake getting his, surrounded by the rest of the pack. Jared and Embry making bets how long it would take him to cry. She couldn't see him crying in her head. She was glad she was alone with Jake. She could only imagine what the rest would say if they saw this.
"Okay, almost done." He said, dipping the stick in the ashes again.
He tapped her skin a few times and sat back. He sighed and smiled.
"Okay done," he said, looking at her face.
He moved her fist from her mouth and she opened her eyes. She looked at him and he gestured to the tattoo. She looked down and saw as the last wound closed up. There were tiny streams of blood running down her arm. She caught a glimpse of her hand and looked at it. She had biting her hand so hard that she had pierced the skin. She watched as they closed up too.
"So, what d'ya think?" he asked.
She looked at the tattoo and looked at his. It was identical.
"Great," she whispered.
There seemed to be a frog in her throat from the crying.
"I better get this back to Sam." He said, putting all the stuff into the bag again.
"You're Alpha now, we should keep it." She said, as he stood up.
He smiled and looked at the bag, then back at her.
"Oh yeah, I forgot." He said, walking over to his closet and putting it in the back at the bottom.
She got up and walked to him, wiping the blood off.
"Jacob, you never forget anything, what's wrong?" she asked, putting her hand on his shoulder.
He turned to face her.
"I was just wondering," he cut off, turning around and closing the closet door.
"Never mind." He said, walking around her to the bed.
"No please tell me, I can't read your mind like this." She said, tucking her hands under her legs.
He sighed and shifted his weight. He turned to look at her.
"Three things," he stopped.
"This afternoon by the river, did I," he stopped and sighed.
She moved closer to him and took his hand.
"What?"
"Did I hurt you, you know?" he asked, looking at the floor.
"Jake," she said, sliding off the bed and sitting on the floor at his feet.
"You got the point through. You have complete control over me whenever you wish. There's nothing I can do about that." She said, explaining to him that it was okay.
"Does that bother you?" he asked.
"No, I trust you, with my life. Obviously." She laughed.
She looked at him and lifted his eyes to hers.
"What are the other things?"
"They both have to do with family." He said.
"Our family." He added.
She got up and sat on his leg.
"I know we have all this time now, but I was thinking I would like to start a family, soon." He said, looking her dead in the eye.
She was taken aback by this. He wasn't joking when he said he wanted a whole pack.
"Jake, we're both so young." She said, getting up and walking to the other side of the room.
"What's the rush?" she asked, folding her arms.
"There's no rush, it's just, and I would like a start a family with you." He said, getting up and walking over to her.
He took he hands and held it in his. His skin wasn't burning hot anymore; it was normal temperature to her. She figured because she was also running at 108.9 degrees. She sighed and leaned against him.
"Good, I just need to get used to this first." She said, looking up at him.
"I can't wait to start a family too." She said and he hugged her closer.
She breathed in his masculine scent.
"There was one other thing." She reminded him.
"Oh, just let me know when you're ready, okay." He said.
She frowned and looked up at him.
"For what?" she asked.
He smiled and winked at her.
"Why didn't you say so?' she said, walking over to the bed.
She turned and looked at him, pulling his baseball shirt back over her head.
"Oh, mighty Alpha, I'm ready now." She smiled as he walked up to her grabbed her around her waist and threw her giggling onto the bed.