Chapter 4 - Introductions
The others still looked a little taken aback. I knew this was a lot to take in, it had been for me when I first transformed. A few minutes passed, all of their eyes still on me, and I looked to Sam.
"So...," I said.
"Arianna is going to stay here on the reservation, she is one of us and therefore I expect you to all treat her as pack. She needs to be filled in on all of our rules, routine, etcetera, and she needs a place to stay; if only temporarily," he said to the group.
I wondered what other things I would learn when they started 'filling me in'.
"Sam, your manners are appalling, you haven't even introduced her to us," said the woman with blonde highlights.
"You're right, I'm sorry Arianna," Sam apologized, "This is Emma," he said gesturing to the girl who had just spoken.
"This is Paul," he said pointing to the thick armed man behind Emma; Paul waved.
"Leah and Seth," he continued pointing first to a tall girl with short cut hair and then to the young boy who had flinched when I spoke to them in their minds.
"It's nice to meet you," said Seth; Leah nodded to me.
"Jared," Sam said, pointing to a short guy standing next to Sam with light brown hair, "And this is Jacob," Sam finished pointing to the tall, dark-haired, and dark-eyed guy who had caught my eye earlier.
"It's very nice to meet all of you," I said, smiling around at them all.
"So, anyone have a spare room in their house she can stay in," said Sam getting straight to the point.
"I do," said Jared, a little too eagerly for my liking. He also had the same name as my ex which didn't sit well with me at the moment.
"She can stay with me if she likes," said Jacob, and my heart lifted. I caught Jacob's eye and silently thanked him; glad I didn't have to stay with Jared.
"It's up to you Arianna," said Sam.
"If it wouldn't be too much trouble," I said to Jacob
"Not at all," he said with a gentle smile.
Sam nodded, "Jacob, why don't you show Arianna to your house, give her a tour. The rest of you can go back to whatever the hell you were doing."
Jacob nodded and walked over to me.
"Hey," he said.
"Hi, thanks for letting me stay at your house," I said, a little awkwardly.
"It's no problem, ummm, so this way," he said and began walking towards the houses.
I walked next to him gazing around. Everywhere I looked I saw beautiful, open land, I could smell the sea in the air, and I could hear all kinds of animals roaming around in the forest; with my enhanced hearing I could identify a fox stalking a rabbit, a squirrel running over a branch, and two of the pack moving through the trees. I sensed someone looking at me and turned my head slightly to look at Jacob out of the corner of my eye. He was looking at me, and when he noticed I knew he was looking, he looked away.
"It's beautiful here," I said, tilting my head back to feel the sun on my face; a light wind ruffling my hair.
"You haven't seen anything yet, I'll take you down to the beach after I show you the house; you'll like it down there, I know I do," he said looking down at me, he was a little taller than me; I was at eye level with the top of his shoulder. If he hugged me he could rest his chin on the top of my head; for some reason, that notion sounded oh so very inviting.