Dearest Readers,

I hope you enjoy this chappy, as much as I did writing it. It starts to unravel a few things that have been going on as we start to get to the internalized issues within our pack. Of course there's a lot of learning to do, but they're young. It'll take time.

XOXO Ally Layne.

Bad Moon Rising

Chapter 17: The Truth Comes Out

Out of sheer spite and annoyance, I figured it would just be best if I avoided those dogs altogether. It had been shown earlier they didn't really want me around, so why would I need to go make sure they know I was safe and sound?

Did they even know I had been missing for the past day?

This was not the way I had wanted to spend my New Years.

Or, at least, I hope I have been missing for only a day. Who knows how long I was unconscious? Unfortunately, the Orcas can't exactly tell time so it wasn't like I could go ask them.

Hopefully Annabeth and my mom have been unaware about the past day or so's events. The last thing I needed was Annabeth or someone else from camp coming out here and mucking everything up. Not that there was anything to muck up that I hadn't already accomplished, but if I was to help the people going missing, I was going to have to find a way to get along with the locals.

Which meant… figuring out how to control my urges to blast Bella Swan in the face with both water and my fists.

I let out a long sigh as I snuck past Sam and Emily's house before taking the familiar path to my own.

It was when I was about only a minute from my house when I felt my body start to really lose all the adrenaline that had still been coursing through me. The closer I got to the promise of sanctuary and security, the more exhausted I became.

Thank gods no one was out and about, I just needed to go to bed and take a nice long nap. It really didn't matter what time of day it was. Maybe a shower, too.

I smelled my armpits, and winced.

Yep, I definitely need a shower, too.

"Did you actually just smell your pits?"

I blinked, turning around to see the familiar face of Paul looking at me with wide eyes and raised brows. "Uh… maybe?"

Paul was of course not wearing a shirt and only dressed in cut off jeans that went just above his knee. His eyes were narrowed as he took in my disheveled appearance and the fact that I was wearing the same clothes as I did on New Year's Eve.

He let out a huff of air. "We thought you were lost."

I raised a brow, before turning to continue to walk to my house, making him follow me if he wanted to continue this conversation.

I needed food. I was hungry.

"Where have you been?" Paul continued, "It's been two days, Guppy. We thought-"

"Is that Andie?"

"Oh my God, it's Andie!"

I am immediately tackled at both sides and wrestled into what I think were supposed to be hugs but felt more like choke holds. Essentially, I was smothered by dark skin and sweat.

I felt my shoulders clench up and I stood ram-rod straight while trying to ignore the stench of BO. "Embry, Quil, I like you both, but if you don't let me go that's gonna change really quickly," I warned them.

They both immediately jumped away just as Sam and Jared walked out of the brush, looking at me with shock. "Where were you?" Jared asked, stopping just next to Paul and crossing his arms. "Kim was freaked that you went missing."

I blinked. "How many people know that I've been gone?"

"We kept it mostly within the pack, but there are others who know as well," Sam said, before pursing his lips. "Did a bloodsucker get to you? What happened?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Can we go over this inside? I really need to eat something or I think I might pass-"

"Oh, thank God, you're okay."

I found myself in arms that have become oddly familiar to me, as a face buried itself into my unwashed hair.

Jake.

For a few moments, I let his arms hold me tight. But then I remembered just what kind of words he spoke to me the last time we were in the same vicinity, and just how much of a complete dickwad he had been.

I slowly peeled his arms off of me, before looking up and seeing the hurt in his brown eyes.

Good. He hurt me, too.

"Nice to see you too, Black." I took a step away from the warmth his bare chest and arms were emitting, all the strength I had left went to keeping myself from shivering at the drastic change. I looked over at the others. "Now that you're all here, I think we should take this inside before anyone else comes and decides to join the party."

I walked over to my house and used the key under the mat to unlock the door before letting the rest of the guys in. The one I wanted to avoid the most, however, was the one that decided to not leave me alone.

"Key under the mat?" Jake asked. "That's not safe at all."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, apparently I'm too dangerous to be around, so I guess it makes sense, doesn't it?"

He glared. "That is not what I-"

"Will the two of you stop?" Embry asked in exasperation, as he walked up to the two of us with crossed arms. "It's becoming annoying."

"I second that motion," Quil added, from where he had plopped himself down on my couch.

Sam let out an irritated huff from where he was standing in front of my television with his hands in his pockets. "Leave her alone, Black. We need her to tell us what happened, and you're not doing any good right now."

I smirked at the look of frustration that crossed Jake's face, but his anger quickly washed away and was replaced with that same look of pain he had been wearing before. It was like he was a puppy that had been scolded for the first time as he disappeared into the kitchen without another look our way.

It was pathetic to watch.

"I have things to say to you too, Andromeda," Sam warned, his eyes narrowing in on me.

My eyebrows raised. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

"I'll tell you after you share just what happened to you that made you disappear for nearly two days," he said. "We nearly called the police to inform them you went missing when Paul caught onto your scent. You are lucky, or this would've been a lot more difficult to explain."

I sauntered over to one of the chairs I had in my living room that was currently unoccupied by a pack member. Paul was standing off to the side, while Jared sat in the chair next to the one I now sat in. Embry took a spot on the other smaller couch I had in the room, which is where Sam ended up slowly moving to sit down.

"We smelled two vamps here, Guppy. They dropped your sword and that bracelet you wear that turns into a shield, which are now both at Sam's," Paul told me. "What did they do to you?"

I shrugged. "The last thing I remember before being knocked out was seeing the blond vamp henchman named Riley. I'm pretty sure it was the red-head Vicky that did the knocking out, now that I think about it."

That made me want to kill her even more than I already did.

"They knocked you out," Sam guided. "Then what did they do?"

"Well, I woke up to being tied by rope, hanging up on a piece of piping in some abandoned warehouse." A growl sounded from the kitchen, making me pause, but after a moment of silence I continued again. "Riley was waiting there in the shadows. I didn't know how much time had passed, but I guess it was probably over a day at that point- making it around this morning that I woke up."

That made me even more pissed off about Vicky.

She really needed to be dusted, preferably at the hand of my own sword.

"I asked to speak with the one in charge and Vicky showed herself. I'm pretty sure the only reason why they didn't do anything to me is because they likely hadn't smelled blood like mine before, and had no idea what I was. I was able to buy some time with that."

It was then that Jake walked back into the main living space, but he had a plate with two sandwiches in hand with a bottle of water that must've come from my fridge. He handed them to me.

I gaped at him. "Uh… thank you?"

He shrugged. "You said you were hungry."

I felt myself nod slowly at his retreating form, where he went to sit next to Quil on the couch before leaning his elbows on his legs with a sigh. When he looked back up at me his eyes still held pain and worry.

He wasn't sad for himself, I think he was actually sad for me.

Ewe, pity.

"Don't you dare feel bad for me, Black," I ordered him, before taking a bite of one of the sandwiches. Oh, turkey. "I hate it when people do that."

He nodded once, before fixing his gaze on the ground in front of him.

"How did you get away?" Quil asked curiously.

"They said something and it made me mad, so the pipes blew up and I was able to restrain them before getting the Hades out of there. Luckily my father sent Killer Whales to help me get back to this side of the peninsula."

"Your father did what?" A wide-eyed Embry asked.

"You could use your powers to restrain vampires?" Sam asked, awe littering his tone. "It's that strong?"

I tilted my head, thinking back on it for a moment. "Well, I think it helped that I was terrified and was afraid they were going to kill me, so the extra boost might've been from adrenaline or something."

"That's good to know."

I raised a brow at Embry. "My father is Poseidon, so of course he's gonna help a girl out when she really needs some sea creatures."

Jared scratched behind his ear. "So… uh, you can just talk to fish?"

"Well, the whales did sing to me and I understood what they were saying."

"Did they know what you were saying?" Embry asked.

I felt a small smile pull at the corners of my lips. "Of course, they did."

"Okay, you're basically a Disney Princess talking to animals and stuff," Quil said. "What else is new?"

"No offense, Ands, but you look like you have really been through it, which technically doesn't make you qualify for the perfect Disney Princess," Embry said, looking at Quil pointedly. "Plus she curses like a sailor, she's no princess."

"Nah, she is. Plus, if anyone is going to be looking or feeling like shit, it should be Andie," Paul spoke, narrowing his eyes at Jake. "She's the one who went through it all and who dealt with you kicking her out of Sam and Em's."

Jake's nostrils flared. "I didn't kick her out."

"Yes, you did," I countered, before taking another bite and chewing angrily. Why did this have to be so delicious when it was him who made it for me?

"I would have done the same, Paul," Sam spoke, leaning back into the cushion behind him. "She was not in control of her powers, and it could have turned very bad, very quickly if she didn't excuse herself from the situation."

I frowned. "What?"

Paul let out a long sigh, but nodded his head to the Alpha.

Sam's eyes locked in on my own. "What you did to Bella was very dangerous, Andie. And after you used your powers on her, you then threatened her life. In a room full of shifters and their mates, no less." He shook his head as his eyes glazed over as they stared at something far away, "You need to learn how to control yourself especially when you get angry. The last thing you want to do is start a frenzy within the pack."

I pursed my lips. "Look, I know I'm not perfect, but Bella did goad me into it."

Sam raised a single brow. "And you let yourself fall for it, correct?"

I didn't have an answer for that one.

"You could have ignored what she was telling you," Sam continued. "You should have ignored her. I know the two of you don't get along, and you let yourself fall into that trap. You wanted to fight, and that's the last thing we need when there are other shifters in the room ready to snap at any moment. Someone could've been killed, Andromeda."

I looked at the ground, not feeling hungry anymore. "I didn't think about that."

"Luckily, Black had the foresight to get you to leave," Sam spoke. "Even if he could have asked you in a much kinder fashion, he made sure you didn't hurt anyone else, including Emily, which I was thankful for."

I sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry for making such a mess of things, especially when I know Emily had everything planned so well."

He smiled. "You are forgiven, and I know Emily has forgiven you too."

"Kim was out of her mind with worry when you went missing," Jared added. "I just want you to know that she's not mad at you or anything, she just wants to make sure you're okay. And so do I."

I blinked, feeling a strong burning sensation in the back of my eyes. "Thanks, Jared. That means a lot."

Paul looked at me knowingly. "You know where I stand, Guppy."

I nodded, hope starting to flood into my chest. Maybe I didn't completely mess everything up. "Thanks, La Hottie."

Embry gave me a half-smile. "I know I just want you to be okay, too. But it would help a lot if you didn't try picking fights all the time."

"And it would help even more if Jake stopped being an ass, too," Quil added, winking in my direction. "But we want the best for you, Ands."

Jake looked over at me with a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't've… I could've handled all of that better." He shook his head at himself. "I really should've done better. I don't know how to try and apologize enough, Andie."

I looked down at my food then back up at him. "Well, this was a good start."

He nodded. "I'm glad."

"And I have to say that I'm sorry, too," I admitted. "I guess I have been a little over the top lately, but… I don't know, it feels like it's me against the world without Percy. Things don't really make sense, right now."

Jake nodded. "I get that, I was the same way after I lost my mom and my sisters high-tailed it out of here." His eyes flickered over to Embry and Quil. "But that's when my friends stepped in and made sure I found my way, again."

I blinked. "Dear gods, this is becoming a soap opera."

Sam sighed. "Please tell me you at least understand my point in all of this, Andromeda."

"Yeah, I do," I assured him, as he stood up with a short groan and rolled his shoulders back.

"That means I get to go home and tell Em that you're safe," he said, before walking up to me and placing a hand on my shoulder. "Our door is always open if you ever need someone, you know that, right?"

For the second time during this little intervention, I felt tears prick at the corners of my eyes. "Yes, I think I do."

He squeezed my shoulder once before giving me a knowing grin, and walked out the door to go see his Emily.

Jared was quick to follow after a short one-armed hug and a warning that Kim might try calling me to make sure he wasn't just trying to appease her. "Tell her we can get lunch sometime or whatever it is that girls do around here," I told him, patting his arm.

His eyes lit up. "Kim'll love that. Thanks, Ands."

Quil and Embry shared a look before they walked over to trade off in giving me hugs.

These hugs were a bit different, this time around. Sure, the two still stank, but so did I. And I think it helped that I had food and fresh water in my system.

"Thanks, you two," I told them. "I don't know what I did to deserve friends like you guys."

Quil shrugged. "Just stay cool, Ands."

Embry gave him a look. "Why do you gotta be so weird, bro?"

"Dude, I'm not weird."

"Then why you gotta be so-"

"Okay, okay, just get out," I told the two, shoving them both toward the door before they started a round of bickering. They were just as close as brothers, and because of that they definitely fought just like brothers.

It was something I had witnessed a few too many times already here in La Push.

"Sam's gonna put someone on detail around here, now," Quil informed me. "First'll probably be Jake, but we'll be switching off."

"So you're saying I'm never going to get time alone, ever again?" I asked, crossing my arms. I turned to look at Jake and Paul, who were both looking very sheepish. "And you all knew about this?"

"It's the new deal after what happened to you," Paul said, raising his hands up in surrender. "I'm just glad I don't have to be first."

Jake rolled his eyes. "But you are second."

Paul grumbled something I didn't hear, making Jake's face darken in a blush.

I blinked.

What in Hades did he just say?

"So we're going to go now," Embry said, looking back at the others with a small amused grin on his face. "And you get to figure out how to get along with our pal Jakey."

"Don't kill each other," Quil added. "It would be annoying to have to clean it up."

I glared at the two. "Get out."

They traded grins and burst out laughing, just in time for me to push them out the door and shut it right on their little butts.

I whirled around on Jake and Paul. "Tell me about this little protection detail, and why no one said anything until now."

Jake wrung his hands together. "Well, uh… Sam thought it would be best to break it to you in a smaller group, you know? Just in case you got pissed off about it."

I felt my anger bubble up in my chest. "You are all treating me like some kind of-"

"Child?" Paul offered. He shrugged, before continuing, "Yeah, I thought so too. But you do have to admit, you were kidnapped by two vamps. We don't know what they really wanted from you, so we don't know if they're going to come back. It'll be easier for everyone if one of the pack can alert the others about any vamps close to us."

Jake crossed his arms, nodding in agreement. "We can tell each other when we're in our forms and warn the rest of the pack about any intruders on our territory."

I sighed. "So you're basically using me as bait at this point?"

He winced. "I wouldn't say bait-"

"But yes, that's exactly what we're doing," Paul deadpanned. He narrowed his eyes on me. "And we're doing this because Sam thinks you can handle yourself, which was demonstrated when you revealed you could use your powers to hold those vamp assholes back. That's impressive, Princess."

Jake nodded. "It changes a lot of what we thought we knew. There are more ways we can keep the locals safe, now, because of what you can do."

I gave them a wry grin. "But seriously, a protection detail?"

He shrugged. "We can just watch a movie or something. Or eat more food. Nothing too official."

"Just hanging out?"

Jake nodded. "Just hanging out."

Paul clapped Jake on the shoulder while giving the younger man a knowing look before turning and walking over to me, pulling me into a large hug. "I'm so happy you're okay, Ands. We went crazy when you went missing." He pulled away, holding me at arm's length. "Go easy on the kid, he's been an absolute shithead since you've been gone. Hopefully, you can help him get his act together so I can stand being in the same room as him."

I grinned. "Well, I'll work on it. I don't know how well it'll work out, though."

Paul winked down at me. "I think it'll go better than you think, Princess."

With a squeeze on my arms, he walked to the door and stopped just as he opened it a few inches before turning back to look at Jake.

"I don't have to warn you what will happen to you if you don't keep her safe, do I?"

Jake shook his head.

Paul nodded. "I didn't think so."

Then, without another word or glance so much in our direction, he left, shutting the door quietly behind him.

The two of us were alone.

The one I had been trying to avoid was now the only pack member in my house- and happened to be my protection detail for at least this evening.

Dear gods, why me?

But something was telling me, in my heart, that this was going to be a good thing.

"Did you mean what you said?" I asked him.

He looked at me in shock, probably amazed that I was even speaking to him without being guilted by Sam. "Yeah, I did."

I nodded to myself. "Well, then it's going to take some groveling and some serious friendship goals but I think this'll be okay."

His eyes widened even more. "Really? You'll forgive me that easily?"

I raised a brow. "Who said anything about me making this easy? You owe me a lot of meals and snacks, and I expect you to deliver."

He let out a low chuckle. "So that's the key to your heart, huh? Food?"

I nodded.

Jake sighed. "Okay, what do you want?"

My smile widened.

I definitely made him pay.

4 pizzas, some cheese sticks, and a dozen empty coke cans later, we were lounging on the couch with my head in his lap while watching America's Funniest Home Videos.

He was rubbing my scalp after I finished drying my hair after my shower, and I felt my eyes starting to drift shut at the calming sensation.

"You're not so bad when you aren't trying to piss me off," I told him lazily.

Jake's answering chuckle warmed my bones. "You're not so bad when you're not trying to pick a fight with anyone that walks."

I cracked open an eye to look up at him. "Not true, I did try to pick a fight with your dad, too."

He barked out a laugh. "I stand corrected."

"I'm sad that you keep hurting me," I told him. "I don't know why I feel sad because I shouldn't when you're not… but you make me feel things that make no sense to me."

Jake tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

I sighed. "Can we be friends? I am tired of fighting with you. It's like everything in me is trying to keep it from happening, and it's so exhausting. I just want to be friends and be happy, I am tired of being stuck between you and Bella and whatever that is. I don't want to be pushed to the side by you anymore."

He gulped. "I didn't mean to make you feel like that."

I patted his arm. "I didn't think so," I admitted. "But you not knowing about it or not meaning to make me feel like your second-rate friend that doesn't stop me from feeling that way. And I don't wanna feel that way again."

"How about this? I make more time for you, you make more time for me. I'll help you with finding your brother and figuring out these disappearances," Jake offered. "You keep me safe, I'll keep you safe? You tell me when I'm pissing you off and I'll tell you when you're pissing me off? We figure all this out together?"

I felt my eyebrows raise at his words. "You promise we do this together from now on?"

"I promise," Jake said. He brushed some stray hair back behind my ear. "You're much more to me than a second-rate friend, Andie. And I promise I will make sure you never feel that way again."

My eyes closed, and I let myself melt into the hand that still lingered along the corners of my face. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

He let out a low hum.

The rest of the night was spent in companionable silence.

But I knew he had a lot of thinking to do.

And so did I.