CHAPTER SIX

Zora found herself back on Leah's front porch, her can of beer now empty. That was how they spent most of their evenings together before having to patrol. Though Leah wasn't old enough to buy alcohol, she was hardly ever carded. And she and Zora had discovered early on that they couldn't become intoxicated—no matter how many cans they downed.

"Something to do with our wolf metabolism, probably," Leah said, munching on Chex mix.

"I like to think it's because we're so powerful and badass that even drunkenness is no match for us," Zora replied, eliciting a loud laugh from Leah, who was currently holding their snack hostage.

As the second female member of the pack, Zora had inherited the same indignant attitude as Leah, or as Paul called it, "The Bitch Curse"—which he'd only been able to say once because Zora broke his arm afterwards. And not that she could help it, either. After her very first encounter with Jacob, the tension between them had only gotten worse. Zora was undeniably drawn to him, due to their connection, of course, but he was certainly attractive. And when he smiled—she had seen it not in person, but through the shared wolf memory—his entire being lit up so beautifully it made her heart ache.

There was another part of her, though—her rational side that could look beyond the effects of the imprint—that wanted nothing to do with him. Because she was intelligent and independent and didn't want to bend to the will of some stupid wolf magic. She didn't know Jacob, had never even said a word to him, and seeing his reaction upon meeting her, didn't care to know him. The wolf magic won the majority of the arguments, however; and much to her chagrin, kept her linked to him.

Jacob didn't make it easy, either. Despite their dangerously high temperature, he left Zora feeling so cold. He didn't smile, never said hello, and didn't joke with her the way he did with the others. If they were near each other, he'd pretend she was nonexistent; he could look at her, and she knew that he was looking through her, as if she were invisible. He was the master of making her angry and miserable all at once.

His favorite form of torture was one that could change her from human to beast in seconds: thinking of Bella Swan. Leah wasted no time divulging to Zora the story of "the world's biggest vampire ass-kisser."

"She's the most annoying person I've ever met."

Zora learned all that she could from Leah's biased opinion: that Bella had an inclination for getting herself injured, that she worshipped her undead lover at his feet, that she hoped to join said lover's family as another undead member, and most importantly, that she was using Jacob.

"When her bloodsucker abandoned her, she turned to Jacob and clung to him like dog shit on a shoe," Leah said, snickering at her own joke. "Had it not been for her and all the vampire drama she threw herself into, you and I wouldn't be in this mess."

And messy, it was. A month after her transformation, Sam started training Zora for a fight that seemed inevitable. An army of newborn vampires was headed to Forks, led by an unknown source seeking bloodshed.

And their target was none other than the infamous Bella Swan.


"Remind me why we're doing this again?" Zora asked, trotting through the darkness.

"Because it was an order from Sam," Leah replied, sounding bored.

"Not the patrolling…I meant why do we have to fight? Why do we have to protect some girl that we don't even care about?" And it was entirely true: Zora had absolutely no care for a girl she'd never met, a girl whose hands were wrapped too tightly around Jacob's heart. "Let her get eaten. I wouldn't flinch."

Leah snorted. "Yeah, right. I know you don't even mean that."

Zora gave her the side eye. "How do you know?"

"Because we're in each other's heads. Duh."

Zora huffed, still not used to unwillingly sharing her thoughts with others. Having unlimited access to her pack mates' minds was exhausting sometimes; when they were all in wolf form together, it was like having her eyes forcibly held open as a never-ending stream of images and words flew at her. Lately, the images she was subjected to were all memories of past, but recent, patrols - snippets of dark nights spent running through the forest or along the coast, sightings of rogue foot prints, wolves play-fighting to pass the time, and Bella's house. Not only were they patrolling in La Push, but in Forks as well, keeping a close and watchful eye on the Swan residence.

It had been a few weeks since the patrolling started, but the presence of the Cullens still startled Zora. Sam had made an agreement with the coven that entailed taking turns to guard Bella - as if she were a helpless princess hidden away in a golden tower - while the Cullens left to feed.

She sighed unhappily, a slew of expletives - and Leah's snickering - streaming through her mind as they neared the Swan girl's house. Already, they could hear the commotion inside: her father snoring in front of the TV, some sports game playing in the background, and Bella whispering something to Edward...followed by kissing noises.

Both girls shared horrified, disgusted looks.

"I'm think I'm gonna hurl," Leah said.

"You and me both."


The first time Zora met the vampire family, she trembled with fear. Their beauty was haunting - the symmetry of their faces, the ghostly paleness, the marble-like quality of their skin. Knowing what they were and what they were capable of was frightening, especially to a new and inexperienced wolf. She had been assigned to patrol with Jacob that night, and he was not happy he would have to spend several hours with the person he melodramatically declared was "ruining his life."

They ran their route in silence which she wouldn't have minded if he were anyone else, but his silence hurt her more than she wanted it to, more than she thought possible. She cursed the stupid imprinting, earning a huff of annoyance from the large russet wolf running next to her.

"What?" she questioned defensively, embarrassed that she had been caught thinking about him while mentally linked.

Jacob shook his head and ran forward, his action worsening her already sullen mood.

"You can't ignore me forever. We're stuck with each other. For life."

He growled. "Well, we wouldn't be stuck if you hadn't—"

"Hadn't what? Shifted? Ever been born?"

"That's not what I was going to say."

"That's what you make it seem like," she muttered, her voice cold. "I didn't choose any of this, Jacob. I didn't choose you."

His momentum faltered for a moment, her words puncturing him in the chest with the sharpness of a dagger. He hadn't expected her to be so blunt...or for her comment to physically hurt him.

"You act like I purposely sabotaged you and your plans to woo Bella. Impossible plans, by the way."

He glowered at her. "It's not impossible."

Zora laughed, a mirthless, growling noise leaving her muzzle. "Right, sure…Bella's going to leave her beloved, bloodsucking boyfriend for her werewolf bestie."

He pushed against her, her stride breaking for a moment. "Despite what you and everyone else thinks, she does care about me. I know she feels something – maybe not enough right now, but she will."

She could feel the determination in his voice, could see the fantasies he played and replayed: her hand entwined with his, her fingers trailing across his cheek, her mouth moving closer to his...

Zora was angry, of course, but more than anything, she ached - her muscles, her mind, and her heart. His mind was a painful, wearying place to be.

Jacob could sense it, too. He saw, with his eyes, the slowing of her movement; and with his mind, an empty, grey expanse. She was trying to block her thoughts, but the effort was difficult to sustain. He'd catch quick glimpses hiding behind the mist, images of his face and Bella's steeped in frustration and sadness. Though he hated admitting it - he barely knew her, after all - feeling Zora's sadness made him sad, too.

And guilty.

Because it wasn't her fault. She had no control over it - the imprint - and as unhappy as he was being forever bound to her, he realized that his thoughts and actions would only create more damage, more sadness that he didn't want her to feel. But damn it, of all people, why was it him? Why did the universe or his ancestors or whoever the hell was in charge feel the need to screw with both of them? She could have ended up with someone who could be devoted to her, someone who could make her happy.

Someone who wasn't him.

He sighed. Throwing a quick glance at Zora, he was unaware of the reverie his mind was slipping into. Even her wolf was beautiful - muscular and nimble like Leah, fur sleek and dark as the night, a small patch of white on her neck. He thought of the first time he met her and the details he memorized so quickly: dark freckles, scarred eyebrow, rich brown skin.

He wondered if she was soft and thought it would be nice to trace his fingertips down her neck and along her shoulder, across her arms or the curve of her back…

Zora coughed, the noise pulling him from his trance. Had he been his regular, human self, his face would've been an unsightly shade of crimson. Of course he'd get caught thinking of her while sharing every single thought with her.

"What was that?" she asked, sounding amused and slightly breathless.

"Nothing," he said quickly, running past her again.

This time, she had no trouble keeping up.

"You sure? It didn't look like nothing."

Jacob could practically hear the smile in her voice, the coldness of her mind melting thanks to his slip-up. He sighed again.

"Just drop it, Zora."

It was the first time he'd called her by her name, and though he wasn't aware of the significance, it made her continue their run with a big, wolfy grin.

"Sure thing, Jacob."


(Revised 1/5/2021)