This is the third Imprint Story in a series of stories I've published. If you haven't already, check out Unbroken: Paul's Imprint Story (1) & The Pointé: Embry's Imprint Story (2). Reading them in order will help you to understand what's going on, but feel free to read them out of order or stand-alone if you wish! I will leave a list of OG characters below just so no one is confused!
KEY:
Scarlett: Paul's imprint/wife
Lena: Scarlett and Paul's daughter, Embry's imprint/girlfriend
I hope you like it!
One: Imprinting
Jane's POV
I already knew that it was a terrible idea to walk home alone at ten at night, but somehow, it seemed like an even worse idea once I was halfway home. Now quickly approaching 10:30, the streetlamps were flickering and the usually nippy Forks air had morphed to bitter. It was dark in all the worst ways; I hated horror movies- in fact, I hadn't even been able to get through The Nightmare Before Christmas alone last Halloween, and then it had still been daylight. Now, horror movies were all that I could think about as I quickly crossed one street to the next, wishing that Forks Reservation had adopted a bus system a long time ago, and mentally kicking myself for not having proposed one when I was safe and warm inside of my house during any of the last nineteen years of my life.
Perhaps, the reason why I was being so hard on myself, was because I worked diligently to make sure that I was never put in this kind of position in the first place. The person who was supposed to lock up at the bookstore had called in sick, so I stayed behind to help out. Only, I made it halfway home when I realized that I had forgotten my cell-phone amidst a neatly stacked pile of classics that needed to be re-shelved, and decided to turn around to go get it, as it truly wasn't safe to be walking home alone without a means of communication. Now, I realized what was even more unsafe, was having no idea of the time the sun set in Forks, Washington in June.
When I first left, the sun was just beginning to set; now, it was merely pitch black. Worse, I still had twenty minutes until I would be home, and because it was so dark, the usual trail through the beautiful woods of protected woods wasn't an option for me. Never having been a fan of the gym, I usually welcomed the 45-minute walk, but it felt entirely too long when it was being done on the side of the road with the moon as my guide, instead of the sunlight peeking through the trees.
If my parents were here right now, they would have killed me.
To my demise, there were very few streetlights lining the uneven sidewalks from the small bookstore I worked at, nestled in the small center of town on the reservation, back to my house on mainland. It wasn't that the reservation was necessarily dangerous, but I was a five-foot five skinny girl with absolutely zero muscle walking alone with nothing to protect myself but a tattered copy of my favorite book and my trusty can of pepper spray having been left at home in leu of my favorite Chapstick, simply because they both wouldn't fit in my new bag. The likelihood that someone would choose to take advantage of me was very, very high, which was why I was only partially surprised when the danger actually arrived.
I was busy weighing my options: Turn around and head back to town; there was a police station that would certainly help me, though it would be rather embarrassing to explain myself, plus, I was more than halfway home- when a man, tall, dark and terrifying, stepped right in front of me on the sidewalk. Having seemingly come out of nowhere, and having not expected him at all, I wasn't able to stop quickly enough, instead, crashing right into his chest, a waft of cigarette smoke slapping me in the face.
"Woah," He laughed, pulling me away to get a look at me. Immediately, I hated the way that he grabbed me; my initial thoughts were that he was much too comfortable touching me for someone that had good intentions. As a thousand thoughts swarmed through my mind at warped speed, I noted the two, beat up pick-up trucks that were parked on the side of the road, right where the rocks met the cliff leading to the water below. Immediately, two debilitatingly terrifying facts flashed across my mind: One, two trucks meant that there had to be at least one more of these guys; two, this was a surprisingly convenient place to dump a body.
Still, this stranger gripped my forearms tightly in his grasp, unyielding even after I had regained my footing. Along with the smoke, came the smell of sweat and something sinister that I couldn't quite place; it hit me in the face like a punch, making me nauseous in mere seconds.
"What do we have here?" He asked, his lips pulling up into a crooked smile that showcased yellow teeth and a horribly wicked sneer. This man had dark hair, black eyes, and something beneath his gaze that made me want to swarm out of his skin. I didn't have to be a mind reader to know what he was thinking; being a woman in this world always made me fear the worst, but I wondered now if so many of the girls who had been through sexual trauma, had been able to see their abuser's intentions like I was able to see mine, now. I couldn't believe how clearly I was able to think after interpreting what he intended to do to me, but it was as if the terror had worked as caffeine to my brain; it was racing a thousand miles a minute. The fear had woken me up, though my body was frozen in place.
I knew that I needed to fight back, but even the thought felt futile. This man was more than triple my body weight. The most I could hope would be to go for his eyes, but he had my arms in a death grip. I was left without a means to fight back. With this realization, pure fear, strong and debilitating and something I had never felt until this moment, surged through my veins at warped speed. It paralyzed me, my brain working at a frantic pace to think of a solution. Something, anything to get me out of this. I found myself craning my neck from left to right, looking for someone, anyone to help me, but I already knew my fate, even if my brain wouldn't let me believe it.
I was alone and completely unprotected.
I saw a second figure move to my left- another man, and with it, a surge of adrenaline and the dread of anticipation shot its' way into my chest and out of my mouth.
"Help!" I screamed, surprised by the sheer force of my voice. "Please help me!"
The man holding me turned towards the person who I already knew wasn't here to save me, but even the small bit of hope I had maintained for some semblance of humanity, dwindled in entirety when I heard him laugh. When the other one joined in, I think a part of me died.
"What'cha got there?" The second man who had just approached came into view. If the person holding my arms was terrifying, then this man was something so beyond terrefying, that there hadn't been a word created to drescribe it yet; tattoos littered this man's face, and a gold chain hung from his neck as he licked his lips, his eyes running up and down my body in a way that made me want to escape out of my own skin.
I wanted to tell them I was a virgin. I wondered if that would make them stop... But I also worried that it would have the opposite effect.
"Please don't," I heard myself whisper.
The tattooed man cocked his head. "Little girl walking home all alone," Was his reply. "Seems to me like you're asking for it."
I chilled at the threat in his voice.
"You weren't even trying to be careful," The one restraining me countered. "It's not safe out here for a pretty thing like you so late at night. Just asking for trouble. You don't know what men want to do with something like you."
My mouth had grown dry. My body knew what was about to happen to it, but I couldn't understand it... I couldn't imagine it. I wasn't able to grasp the fact that these two men were about to hurt me in the most horrible of ways. They were about to rape me, or kill me. I had no idea which was worse, and with every passing second the dread inside of me overcame me, and I found myself fighting to hold back tears.
Suddenly, as if a switch had been turned on inside of my own brain, my survival instincts took over at the very moment that the tears began to flow, as I began thrashing and fighting against his grip. I fought as hard as I could, with an effort that seemed impossible for anyone to be able to overcome- and he did struggle to maintain his hold on me for just a second, but alas, he hung on. Then, in the very next moment, the tattooed man grabbed on to me as well, standing behind me and grabbing my shoulders.
"Get her in the car!" I heard him instruct the other, who responded by whipping me around and wrapping his arms around my chest. I screamed so loudly, that I wondered how on earth the whole world couldn't hear me. He slapped his hand over top of my mouth; I could barely breathe, but I could taste his skin, salty and disgusting, as I tried.
The other one tried to grab my legs, but I kicked and thrashed my legs so hard, he wasn't able to grab ahold. This bothered him, but I wasn't able to tell how much until I was being pulled into the side of the truck, and was suddenly punched in the face.
"Bitch!" He seethed, though the sound was accompanied by a chorus of ringing in my ears. I had never been hit before, let alone with that kind of force. It didn't hurt as much as it shocked my system, sending tingles down my legs and into my toes. I noticed my vision swaying... I felt like he made my brain slam into the back of my head.
The big one- the one whose hand was still covering my mouth, pulled me back so that my entire body was lying parallel on top of the seats. Before I could react, the other one was climbing in after me, snaking his hands up my thighs and ripping the zipper of my jeans as he viscously pulled them down my legs and threw them onto the truck floor.
NO! My brain was screaming.
No! No! No! No! No! I screamed over and over and over again, but the only sounds that I could get out, came across as pathetic whimpers.
He slapped the inside of my thigh so hard, that my entire body jerked in response. For just a second, my captor's hand slipped from my mouth, but it was long enough for me to let out a blood-curdling scream, unlike anything I had ever heard before. I couldn't believe that had come from me.
"Keep her quiet!" The one on top of me spat, just before his partner replaced his hand on top of my mouth.
The one whose intentions weren't a guessing game to me anymore- the one who had my pants off and had already slipped between my legs then reached for the buckle of his jeans.
I slammed my eyes shut. I couldn't look at what was about to happen to me.
I heard his pants unzip.
"Hold her down," He demanded.
Oh my God... This was about to be brutal.
Seth's POV
I had felt uneasy all day. This morning, my stomach had been so upset, that even Emily's blueberry muffins hadn't appeared appetizing to me. Maybe for anyone else, it wouldn't have been so strange to get the flu, but for me, I hadn't gotten sick since the first time I phased into a wolf, so I was pretty dang confused.
Even more confusing, was the diagnosis from Carlisle, my Cullen friend that half the pack was secretly, still horribly offended and confused that I associated with, while the other was just as chummy with them as I was- even if they did smell absolutely terrible.
His official diagnosis? Anxiety.
Anxiety.
I was a shape-shifting wolf who had faced vampires and won, yet here I was having anxiety.
I didn't necessarily disagree with his diagnosis, because once he said it, I began to realize that he was probably right; only, in contrast to anxiety, I felt like an impending sense of doom was more like it, which I only knew because I had studied it in my pharmacology lecture a few weeks ago.
All day, I had felt like something was off. I had felt like I was waiting for something terrible to happen; like at any second the other shoe was going to drop, and the world was about to end. Every time someone placed their glass down on the table a little too loudly, or closed the door with a bit too much force, or god forbid didn't announce themselves before entering the room, I was jumping.
I wondered if the lack of sleep between classes and night shifts were making me delirious.
Still, I had no choice but to run my usual route tonight; there had been an unusually high amount of gang activity in the area; an overflow from Seattle, which had recently cracked down on gang-related crime, enticing these criminals to seek refuge in the more secluded parts of Forks. Just recently, we had scared off dozens of these assholes who were busy selling drugs and girls... The girls part always bothered me the most, as it did all of us, but we could only do what we could without drawing too much attention.
Needless to say, it was all hands on deck, which meant that it was four separate hands (or sixteen paws) on deck, because the high-schoolers didn't patrol on the weekdays.
It was when we reached the lining separating the forest from the cliffs near the edge of the reservation, that the same uneasy feeling that I had been feeling all day began to get out of hand.
Seth, what's up with you? I heard Jacob ask.
We usually were all good at blocking out each other's thoughts, which was always a curtesy, but became an actual necessity once Embry got together with Lena. We had all watched Lena Lahote grow up, which was why it was particularly traumatizing when we were assaulted with visions of her and Embry doing some super non-PG things. It wasn't that Lena was the first baby that had grown up to later get romantic with their imprint- there was Jacob first, and then Quil of course- but Embry was just particularly horrible at hiding them.
Now, I could tell that right now was one of those moments when my thoughts were so loud, that the rest of the pack couldn't ignore them.
Something's wrong, I thought.
Are you sure you're not just worried about your final? Embry asked.
Nerd, Jason brown thought. I wasn't sure if he meant for me to hear that.
No, I heard myself answer Embry. Something is definitely wrong.
You could be sensing something, Jacob countered, putting an end to anyone else's comments, as he had the final say. We'll follow you. Just let your intuition lead.
Though I thought it was an idiotic idea, I couldn't help but feel a small amount of pride that Jacob, our Alpha, trusted me enough to let me lead them based on such a small hunch. Though I was from the same generation of wolves as Jacob, Sam, Embry, Quil, Jared and Paul, I had sometimes found myself being pushed into the group of the younger ones; of course, I had noticed this change once the originals had phased out. Now that Jacob, Embry and I were the only originals left, I felt that Jacob treated me with a sense of superiority that felt weird, but was appreciated.
Now, the pack mostly consists of the original pack member's kids, which are Jacob's two sons, one of which had just phased for the first time, Sam's son, and Quil's son. With the amount of kids there were, it was always surprising to me that more of the kids didn't have the gene. Now, any time any of them have mood swings or tempers, we're all wondering if one day they're just going to combust into a wolf. It was touch and go with Lena Lahote for a while, all of us holding out breath that the most fiery girl we'd ever met didn't join the pack; I don't think that any of us could have handled two of Embry's brain.
I had nearly made it to the edge of the old treaty line, when I finally heard what I had been feeling all day.
A sudden, shrilling scream came out of nowhere, and suddenly the entire lot of us broke out in a sprint towards the sound. We were able to hone our hearing on the scene of distress, and make out the sound of ripping and grunts.
"Keep her quiet!" I heard a distant voice say.
Fuck. A chorus of our internal thoughts replied at the very same time. It didn't take a scientist to figure out what we were hearing.
My heart ricocheted to my throat, and suddenly, I was sprinting faster than I ever had before. I left Jacob and Embry in my dust as I hurried towards the sound. I had no idea why, but the muffled screams, though the softest of all the sounds, were all that I could hear. They were overwhelming my mind. I couldn't think anymore; all that I could manage to do was accelerate faster. I needed to save this girl- I didn't even know her, but I knew that I needed to save her.
I broke free from the tree-line and immediately came face to face with the scene that I had been listening to. There were two trucks parked at the very edge of the cliff, overlooking the water below, and in one of them, there was movement.
"Hold her down." I heard that same, vile voice from earlier say.
Before I even had a chance to think, I flung myself out of the forest and onto the gravel. It literally took one jump for me to reach this piece of shit, and once I did, I clamped my mouth around his legs and pulled him out of the car and off of the girl, in less than a second.
"What the..."
Before the other guy could finish his sentence, Embry beheaded him.
Literally.
I looked up just in time to see his snout reach into the car from behind the guy, and pulled him from the car, swinging his body and his head into the water, only they went in two separate directions. Embry had never been one to follow the rules when it came to issues like this; it was for this reason, as well as many others, that he was one of my best friends.
I looked down towards the disgusting prick I had just mauled- about to take a play from Embry's playbook- only to see his lifeless face staring up towards the sky. I hadn't meant to, but when I flung him off of her, his head had landed on a particularly sharp section of rocks. There was still blood leaking from beneath his head.
It was in that moment, that we all became silent... I didn't mean just verbally silent, for none of us had spoken a word since we arrived, but mentally,
It was as if all of us realized at once, that there was a girl inside of that truck, and that none of us knew the state that we were going to find her in...
We all need to get dressed, Jacob's command cut in.
It was a very smart decision- a very logical one. I could only imagine how scared she was about to be, let alone how she would feel if four naked men approached her after what she had just been through. So, within moments, we hid ourselves to phase behind the second truck, quickly slipping our shorts on, and hesitantly approaching the vehicle.
Jacob and Embry led the pack, with Jason and I close on their heels. Though, it was once the two of them got close enough to see into the car, and I heard the quick intake of breath from them both, that I knew it was bad.
"Shit," I heard Embry mutter under his breath.
"Hey honey," I heard Jacob's voice as hesitant and gentle. It sounded like how he talked to the little one's at our family gatherings and campfires. Instantaneously, I realized what was going on: This girl must have been young. "Are you okay?"
We stopped in our tracks once we heard a high gasp come from inside the car. A whimper followed, and then a hesitant voice. "Please... don't-,"
"We're not gunna hurt you," Jacob whispered, his voice even gentler than before.
My heart dropped into my stomach. She was scared.
"We were on a late run," Embry cut in, his voice different than Jacob's; even and calm. "We heard you scream and then saw what was going on. We just came to help you. Do you live around here? Do you have anyone you'd like us to call?"
Silence hung in the air for a moment before we heard her response. Her voice was soft and weak; cracking at the corners in a horrible sort of way. "Um, I don't know. A-are they gone?"
"Yeah," Embry's voice remained steady. "They're gone."
Another beat of silence.
"Here. I noticed Jacob reach for the hem of his shirt. He pulled it overtop of his head, and once I was able to see around him and make out bare legs and underwear, I realized that he was trying ot give her something to put on.
My stomach dropped just knowing that she was exposed like this.
Suddenly, she was screaming.
"No! No! No! No! No!" A rush of the words came all at once, her voice cracking at the end, as she began to cry.
Embry grabbed Jacob by the arm and pulled him behind him. He held up his hands. "Sorry. He was trying to help you cover up, which was stupid." He turned to Jacob. "That was stupid."
I heard a broken whimper. It broke my heart. Fuck, this was gut-wrenching. "No, it's okay," She managed to get out. "I'm sorry- I just don't know you and there's a lot that's going on and there are four of you and..."
"Say no more," Embry took a step back, which meant that we all followed. Although none of us ever said it, we're letting Embry take the lead on this one, as he's the only experienced one. If we can't have Paul, who would probably know every right thing to say, then Embry, the guy who somehow convinced Scarlett to let him carry her into the car, where she stayed clinging to him the whole way to the hospital, after she'd had the shit beat out of her, was the next best thing.
"We're going to step away to call the police chief and EMS. Mind if Seth takes a look at your face? You're covered in blood and he's in med school. Not sure how much help he'll be, but it's something."
"Okay," I heard her respond with a quiet sob.
Even though I was happy that she agreed to let us help her in some way, I couldn't deny how angry I suddenly became once I realized that we hadn't been able to reach her before they hurt her. I stepped forward as the three of them stepped back, heading towards the second car and farther away from her.
In reality, it was a good idea for them to call away from her; when Embry said police, he meant Aaron, Sam's eldest son and the police chief that took over for Charlie when he retired; when he said EMS, he meant Carlisle. We had a team for when us wolves encountered situations like this; how else would we explain so many dead bodies?
I looked into the truck, and I finally connected my eyes with the entirety of this girl. She was beautiful- very beautiful- which was evident even underneath of the the blood that was covering her face; beneath the blood, she had giant brown eyes and long, golden brown hair. But more importantly, she was in nothing but a short tee-shirt and white, lace underwear, and she was also, obviously terrified, as evident by the way that her entire body was shaking, and her lips were trembling as she tried to hide the way that she was still crying.
"Thanks for letting me help you," I told her, though she still hadn't made eye contact with me. "Want me to help you out of the truck? Might be better to get out of this thing."
"Yeah," She immediately nodded her head. "Thanks."
"Sure." I held out my hand to her, and after a few seconds of staring at it, she hesitantly placed her hand into mine. I only intended to help her step out of the car, but had to catch her when her legs gave way, and she almost slammed into the pavement.
"Sorry!" I apologized immediately, knowing that she probably hated the way that I was holding her. I quickly lowered her to the ground, and set her up against the side of the truck. Now sitting on the pavement, I could tell that she felt better than she had in the truck. When I squatted down next to her, she didn't flinch away from me or start screaming, which was progress.
"They hit you?" I asked her, though it was pretty evident that they had.
"Yeah," She squeezed her eyes tightly together, her head swaying a bit as she placed her hand to her head. "The one punched me. I think it's just my nose that's bleeding, but I'm not sure. My head hurts so bad."
"Yeah," I frowned when I looked more closely at her face, realizing that she wasn't right at all about the nose, and that the guy had punched her more in the jaw than anything, which meant that the source of the blood was coming from her lip that was cut in two places. I wasn't about to tell her that, though- although, I did worry more about a concussion, now.
"Mind if I check your pupils? I'm pretty sure you have a concussion."
"Not at all," She winced again. Slowly, she opened her eyes. "Ouch," I heard her mumble, as I reached for my phone.
I turned on the flashlight and then I gently pressed my finger underneath of her chin to steady her face. "Alright, just look straight ahead for me," I instructed her.
"Okay," She took a steadying breath. "Thanks for this by the way."
"You seriously don't need to thank me," I told her as I realized that my suspicions had been correct. This girl's pupils were as wide as saucers. "It's good practice for me, honestly."
Surprisingly enough, I heard the fainted chuckle from this girl. "I'll have to get attacked more often."
I froze. "I didn't mean it like that."
"I know," Her voice was small again. "I was trying to be funny. I shouldn't."
"I think that you can do or say just about anything that you want right now," I disagreed with her. "You're the one covered in blood after two assholes tried to assault you."
She cringed.
"Or... did assault you?" I asked her hesitantly.
"They didn't," She shook her head, but then dropped her gaze to her lap. "But they would have if you guys hadn't showed up. Thank you, again. And can you apologize to your friends for me? I didn't mean to villainize them; I was just kind of freaked out."
"Understandably," I let out a long breath. "And really, there's no need to apologize, or to keep thanking us, for that matter. Any decent person would have done the same thing."
She sighed. "Please let me apologize," She begged, lifting her head up once more, her eyes closed this time, as she backed her head to rest it against the car. Before it could hit, I quickly slipped my palm behind her head to cup the back of her skull. She jumped a bit, but I cut in to explain before she got too nervous.
"Sorry," I lamented. "Doctor instincts. Let's be careful with your head for right now. What do you think?"
Her bloodied lip pulled up into a small smile. "I think you're going to be a great doctor."
I couldn't help but smile back. "Thank you." After a moment of silence, I spoke again. "So what are you doing out here?"
It took her a moment to respond. "Walking home from work."
I hesitated, "At midnight?"
She moaned. "It was stupid, I know. I've never walked home this late before; I- I- I can't really remember why I had to turn back around, but I did, and then it got too dark to walk through the forest trails that I usually follow, and so I had to walk along the road. I shouldn't have done it."
"Ah, it's alright," I stopped her before she could continue any further. "Don't be so hard on yourself. We've all made questionable decisions. You deserved to make one of your own and not be attacked for it."
Her lower lip trembled, and her voice was shaking again when she responded. "Thanks," She whispered.
"Please don't cry," I whispered to her gently.
She sucked in the corner of her lip, cringed, and then struggled to do something with the tears that were quite obviously bubbling to the surface.
"I'll try," Came her high voice.
"Fuck it," I suddenly blurted. "Cry. You can cry. Please cry. I'm such an idiot."
She laughed a bit, but really, it just looked like a mixture of laughter and crying. "You're not an idiot, but okay. Thank you."
My eyes dropped down to her bare legs again, and I frowned. I saw the shirt that Jacob had attempted to give her earlier, a few inches from us; I reached for it and then bunched it up in my hands.
"Arms up," I told her.
Her eyes opened. "Hm?"
Before she could argue, I pulled it over her head. Once she understood, she pulled her arms through the arm-holes on her own, and then I helped her pull it down so that it was covering her underwear, the edge going all the way down to the tips of her knees.
"There you go," I said, moving so that I was next to her, and then taking a seat with my back against the truck, too.
She turned her head so that she was facing me. "Thank you," She whispered. Then, her eyelashes flickered up to mine. "I'm Jane."
But honestly, I barely heard her... Because the second that she looked at me- the moment that she really looked at me, my entire world shifted on its' axis.
I felt like I was sucked into an internal tornado, now stuck in a trance in which the entire center of my being was destroyed and rebuilt- rebuilt with big, brown eyes, and beautiful, golden hair and the sweet way that her voice sounded when she thanked me.
A moment later, I blinked, and suddenly, the moment had passed.
Now, Jane was looking at me with a bit of hesitancy; she must have wondered what the hell was wrong with me, and why I was staring at her like she just changed my whole world- little did she know that she did. Whoever this Jane was, I had just imprinted on her, and I didn't know what to do or what to say now that I knew that everything was different.
She leaned away from me, and I snapped to it. My instincts to protect her from any more fear taking over the part of me that was overwhelmed. "Seth," I cleared my throat. "It's nice to meet you, Jane."
"It's nice to meet you too, Seth," Jane smiled tentatively.
"Granted, I would have preferred better circumstances," I continued.
"You and me both," Jane chuckled, but then she winced, again. With that, I had to tense my muscles to keep from reaching for her. Whereas it was painful to watch her in distress a moment ago, it was almost impossible, now. God, I hated seeing her hurt.
"You can just close your eyes and relax if you want," I heard myself whisper to her. "You really shouldn't sleep because you're concussed, but you don't have to worry about talking to me."
"I'm not worried about talking to you," Jane opened her eyes and looked back at me. "You're making me feel better."
I swore that my heart just melted.
Before I could respond, I heard the distant sound of police sirens. A second later, Jane heard it, too. She peered over the side of the car, and I looked over her head to see Aaron's police car, with EMS in tow. We had become a well-oiled machine when it came to these kinds of rescues; Aaron and Carlisle were a huge part of that. I sometimes wondered why some of the original members of the pack carried such distain for them- we wouldn't be able to do what we did without Carlisle, after all.
"Sounds like my ride's here," Jane readjusted herself with a wince.
"Sounds like it," I gulped as I looked at her. I was happy that there were people here to get her some help, but I was worried that she would be taken away from me, and I wouldn't be able to keep her safe.
Aaron parked the car, and then stepped out. I noticed the EMS workers jump out of the back of the truck and begin rushing over to us.
Quickly, I peeked over my shoulder. I didn't have to look to know that Jacob, Embry and James had disposed of the bodies before company arrived, but I more so wanted to double check to make sure that Jane wasn't traumatized. Thankfully, the one that had been bleeding was gone.
"Do you want me to go to the hospital with you?" I asked her.
"Oh," Jane's attention turned back to me from where she was watching the approaching people. "No, Seth. That's okay. Thank you, though. Thank you so much," She connected her eyes with mine, and even concussed, I could tell how much she meant it. "And please thank your friends, too."
"You don't have to-,"
"Seth," She cut me off. "I do."
Before I could think of a response, Aaron came up beside me. He immediately crouched down, signifying for EMS to follow him, and began asking Jane questions.
Even though I didn't want to, I forced myself to stand up so that they could get to her. Once standing, I forced myself to take a step away- still close enough to be within ear sight and eyesight, but far enough to give her, her privacy. Even though Jane might have meant more to me now, I was still a stranger to her, and I wanted to respect that. I wanted to respect her and her space and her privacy- something that hadn't been done to her just a moment ago.
This went on for just a short timer longer, before EMS brought out a stretcher and loaded her onto it. They didn't have to ask me if she had as concussion, as it was pretty obvious, though Aaron did have a few questions that he needed answered from me.
I was taking to Aaron when I noticed Jane, who I had kept a close eye on since they all arrived, look back in my director for the first time. She was on the stretcher, being wheeled away towards the ambulance, when she looked up, and our eyes locked.
I noticed a small smile on her face, just before she lifted her hand, and offered me a small wave. "Bye Seth," She whispered, but the only reason why I was able to hear her, was because of my werewolf hearing skills, that were still heightened when I was in human form.
I waved back, unable to hide my sadness as I watched her be loaded into the truck, and the doors were shut behind it. Just as the ambulance began to pull away, I was finally able to speak; though my throat felt dry and there was a a tightening in my chest that I'd never felt before, I knew that I had to let her go.
"Bye Jane," I spoke to the retreating van, only moving my lips, but hearing the words inside of my own head.
Soon after Aaron left, I re-joined Jacob, Embry and James.
I took a seat next to them, where they were sitting around on a section of large rocks, overlooking the water.
"Hey Seth," Embry greeted me as I came over. "Heavy stuff."
I nodded my head.
"Was she alright?" Jacob asked.
I frowned at him.
"Right," His face dropped. "Well of course she wasn't alright."
"That was just horrible," James shook his head. He had been unusually quiet since we arrived, and I felt sort of bad for not checking in on him more; James had just graduated from high school, and he had just jointed the pack not too recently. He wasn't used to seeing this shit- not like the rest of us who had seen more violence and trauma than we cared to admit.
"You okay?" Jacob nudged his foot.
"I'm fine, dad," James nudged him off.
"You shouldn't be fine," Embry gave him a look that only came from being partially raised by him, as well as the rest of us. "It's normal to not be fine. You shouldn't be fine. This is hard shit. I still think about what happened with Scarlett, sometimes. I don't think I'll ever be able to get that picture out of my head." Embry shook his head towards the water.
"I don't think any of us will," Jacob nodded, staring off in the same direction.
"This whole thing made me think of that time Lena's dance instructor tried to... yeah," I noticed him take a steadying breath. "People are horrible."
"People are horrible," James agreed. I noticed him swipe at the corner of his eyes, but I pretended not to. He could cry about this stuff; it was horrible, and it deserved this kind of emotion.
We all remained silent for a while, giving ourselves some time to digest the events that just occurred before we have to phase and go back to our families. I imagined it was harder for Jacob and Embry, who had to go home to their significant others; I remember that Jacob told me that things like this made him hold Nessie just a little tighter. In that same sense, I always thought that Jason and I had it easier; we could shower away the day and then sleep, as we didn't have someone else to think and worry about...
Not anymore.
Now, I felt that I was the one who would be haunted the most by this.
It was Embry who broke the silence. "Seth," He began, turning to look at me- out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Jacob and James follow suit. "You haven't said much and you spent the most time with her. You okay?"
I wasn't sure what the fuck to say to that.
Was I okay?
Let's see... I had just imprinted moments after killing someone; plus, it was on the same girl who we had been forced to rescue from being raped. Now, she wasn't here anymore and I had no idea what to do with these emotions swarming inside of me.
No, I wasn't okay.
I shook my head.
I noticed Embry and Jacob give each other a look before they sat up.
"You want to talk about it?" Jacob asked.
I stared straight ahead. I wasn't able to say anything. What could I say?
"Seth." Jacob's voice was stern. I could tell that they were worried about me.
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I tried again, but the words, whatever words they might have been, they got stuck in my throat.
I shook my head at myself.
I might not have had the right words, but I did have some words. I finally was able to speak. Once I did, I didn't sound like myself.
"You know that thing," I began, leaving too long of a pause before continuing, coaxing Jacob to respond.
"What thing?"
"The thing," I broke my eye contact from the water to look towards my friends. I suddenly realized why I didn't know what to say; it was because I had no idea what I was feeling, other than terror. I was fucking terrified.
"The thing that you did with Nessie," I said to Jacob, "And you did with Lena," I finished to Embry.
All three of them froze.
"I just did that thing," I finally spoke the words out loud.
A heavy silence hung in the air, holding over all of us as we sat in solidarity. We must have stayed that way for ten minutes- I wasn't sure, but I did appreciate the time to try to make sense of what was going on inside of my head... Not that I was able to in the slightest.
All that I could think about was Jane.
I hated that I didn't know how she was, or what she was doing, or if she was in pain. I hated that I couldn't help her or make her feel better. I felt miserable in a way that I never had before.
Jacob stood up.
He sighed, brushing his legs off and then holding his hands at his sides as he looked between the three of us. "Well, we should probably get going."
That felt wrong. "I'm okay," I shook my head at him.
"I didn't mean go home," Jacob rolled his eyes. "I meant the hospital. I'll text Carlisle for her room number and then we can stake out in the woods behind her window until she's released."
"Wait..." I stood up, absolutely astonished. "Really?"
"No, I'm kidding," Jacob cocked his head. "Of course I'm serious, Seth."
"Yeah," Embry smacked me on the shoulder. He stood up, next to Jacob, and a moment later James followed. "We've all done this for each other when it counted. Now we're going to do it for you."
I felt a wave of emotion that I swallowed down, immediately. I didn't deserve this family that I had, but I couldn't imagine life without them. Without my dad, Jacob and Seth and Jared and Quil and Embry had become sort of like big brothers to me- of course, they would never take the place of my dad, but all together, they filled a whole that would have been vacant if it wasn't for them.
"Okay," I pressed off of the rock to stand, too. "Thanks."
They nodded, and without another word, we phased and ran into the woods, towards the hospital. Once there, Jacob unphased to go inside and talk to Carlisle, once it was clear that he wasn't answering his phone. I was appreciative for this, because he was also able to get some more information for us.
Apparently, Jane was okay. Her face was pretty cut up and bruised, but other than that, she was uninjured. She did, however, have a pretty major concussion that they were going to keep her overnight to monitor.
As promised, we were able to figure out where Jane's room was, and found a spot in the woods that gave us a good view. She was on the third floor, which meant that I wasn't able to see inside of her window, so aside from the faint, yellow light peeking through the clear glass, I wasn't able to even tell that she was inside of it.
I wasn't sure how much time had passed... hours, maybe, when suddenly, I noticed a shadow approaching the window.
I held my breath, somehow knowing it was her before I saw her. But when I did see her, she took my breath away.
Jane didn't have blood covering her face, anymore, and now that I could truly see her, she was much more beautiful than I had even realized. Jane's steps weren't as hesitant as she had been when we rescued her, as her full figure came into view. She walked to the window with her arms crossed and a thoughtful expression on her face, stopping once she had reached it to look out at the world, seeming to seriously be contemplating something.
I felt like she was giving me a gift, standing there so steady and unmoving, enabling me to see that she was healthy, as well as enabling me to stare at her, and put her many features to memory.
Jane's hair wasn't messy and tussled like it had been before; now, it looked brushed out, wavy in all the right places. It looked soft beyond words. And her eyes- those beautiful, beautiful chocolate brown eyes, they were even bigger than I had originally noticed, framing as tiny nose and lips that were full and pink and perfect. The apples of her cheeks were full, but the line of her jawline was sharp.
Jane was breathtaking.
Just breathtaking.
I noticed that she was moving- not much, but just a little bit. When I focused in on the movement, I was able to notice that Jane was holding onto a tiny necklace; one that I hadn't even noticed she had been wearing, before. She was holding it between her fingers, moving it side to side as she stared off into space, as if she was caught in thought.
Then, I noticed her look up. She peered up at the sky, and the faintest hint of a smile covered her face.
Only, I noticed her smile turn to a frown.
Then a smile again.
Tears welled up in her beautiful, big eyes, making them appear even more pronounced than before.
Her hand, the on that wasn't holding onto her necklace, she pulled it up, and then she pressed her palm against the window.
She leaned into it, her eyes closing for a moment before she opened them again, bright and beautiful, looking straight up into the night sky, searching for something that I couldn't place, but I wish that I could, because I would have done anything to give it to her.
She tipped her head fully back now, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh that was so big, it made her shoulders rise and fall in unison with it.
After a moment, she opened her eyes, and she took a step back. She offered one, final half smile at where she had been staring before, before she let go of her necklace. She tucked her arms around herself and then she turned, slowly walking away from the window, and away from me.
If I ever thought I had known what love was, I realized in this very moment that I didn't- for I would have done anything to give her what she was looking for. I would have done anything to make it so that she was never sad, again.
But it was those same eyes that filled with tears, that had been filled with hope and kindness when she smiled at me, earlier.
It was those eyes that I would hold onto until I saw her again.
I would have stayed outside of whatever window she resided behind, keeping her safe and protected, waiting for her to come to the window just to get a peak at her and know that she was okay.
I would have done that for as long as she needed.
I would have done that forever.
Forever.
EEEK that was fun! New readers, what do you think of Jane and Seth? Returning readers, what do you think of this new introduction to these lovely characters that I love so much?
Follow, favorite & review if you want to keep up! THANK YOU so much for reading! -N
