A/N: Whoop, a new chapter finally! Some drama, action, and of course more problems. Enjoy!
Chapter 8
Jacob woke up to snickering somewhere near his head. He growled, batting one hand at the noise while the other gripped a soft, pliant body to his. "Wait, what?"
His eyes popped open to the blinding light coming through the windows, squinting as he met the smug grin of Embry standing at his feet. "Nice catch Jake!"
He followed his packmate's gaze to see a tangled mess of brown hair on his chest, Bella's body draped over his on the narrow couch. He heard Quil's snicker above his head again and glared at his Pack as they surrounded him. "Get out!"
His barking command startled the sleeping beauty on top of him and he watched as she stretched and yawned, blinking as she raised her head and peered at him. "Jake? What…"
Her eyes widened as she tried to scramble off of him, letting out a squeak of surprise as she noticed the semi-circle of men, falling on her butt on the floor in an unglorified heap. Several of the Pack burst into laughter, making her flush a deep red and she clambered to her feet and bolted to the bathroom. Jacob glared at them all as he pushed himself off the couch, calling Bella's name as he strode to the door and knocked softly. "Bells, it's me. Can I come in?"
There was silence for a long minute before he heard the soft click of the lock and he took that as a sign to enter, ignoring the jeering laughter from behind him and glaring at the culprits before shutting the door firmly. Turning around he saw Bella seated on the edge of the tub, her hair hanging in a tousled curtain around her and hiding her face from view. He hunkered down in front of her, gently reaching up to pull her hands away from her face and peering at her flushed skin. "Bells, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep like that, and the guys were not supposed to come in my room. You'll have to ignore them, most of them are idiots, and they'll be regretting this for the next few weeks."
Mentally he was already rearranging patrol schedules that he knew Embry and Quil especially would hate, but was brought out of his thoughts by her fingertips gently touching his cheek. "It's okay, I'm just embarrassed that they caught us…well, what they might think…that I'm…you know I'm not that kind of girl…"
He smiled at her flustered explanation, unintentionally leaning into her touch as he shook his head. "I know you're not, and once I thoroughly thrash those knuckleheads they will too. They really are good guys, but some of them are still more childish than they should be at their age. Please, just try to ignore them and come have breakfast?"
She pursed her lips slightly before nodding and rising to her feet with him. "Um, I should clean up first. Could I borrow a hairbrush or something?"
He nodded, gesturing to his toiletry bag and backed towards the door as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Take as long as you need, especially if you hear any loud crashes or anything out here."
Bella laughed and rolled her eyes at him, making him grin as he slipped out the door, the smile fading when he saw the Pack lounging on the furniture. Quil and Embry had idiotic grins on their faces, while Sam's was full of trepidation as he tried to gauge his Alpha's mood.
"So Jake, how was she?"
Quil's comment was all it took for Jacob's fragile control to snap and he growled as he leapt across the room and hoisted Quil up by his collar. "Do. Not. Talk. About. Her. Like. That."
He could feel Quil flinch at each barked out word, his head turned as far to the side as it could go, although neither Jacob nor his wolf was satisfied with the submissive display. Shoving Quil back into his chair, his burning yellow eyes met each of the other's with a glare as his voice rumbled through the room. "No one is to talk to or about Bella like that. She is to be treated with respect, or I will personally tear a strip off of your hides, human and wolf. Is that clear?"
Murmurs of ascent rose from the packmates and he took a deep breath to force himself to relax, satisfied Bella would be treated properly. As he looked around he noticed Paul was missing and turned to Sam. "Where's Lahote?"
Sam swallowed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, and cleared his throat. "Uh, about that Jake…"
Whatever he was about to say was lost as Jacob bolted across the room and into the hall, striding to the next room and pounding on the door so hard it left a small crack where his fist hit.
"LAHOTE!" His bellowing growl probably woke up the entire floor but Jacob was beyond caring as he pounded on the door again. "Open this door!"
His sensitive hearing picked up hushed whispering and scrambling feet behind the door before the lock clicked and a slightly nervous Paul appeared, a bed-sheet hanging off his waist. "What's up Black?"
Jacob could barely see through the red haze that tinted his vision and he faintly heard Sam at his side trying to calm him down. "Jake, just try to relax and not kill him. I'm sure the hotel is already going to be angry about the door, a murder scene is really going to piss them off."
Jacob sucked in a deep breath trying to clear his head and almost immediately wished he hadn't as the pheromones that permeated the room filled his senses. "Paul…"
Before Jacob could tear out his throat a slim arm wrapped around Paul's and Rachel's sheepish face appeared. "Jacob. Look, I know this probably looks bad…"
The door-frame he was gripping creaked ominously and Paul flinched as a growl escaped Jacob's mouth. "Rachel, get dressed, and in my room before I drag you there myself. Paul, shower, now."
He stormed away before anyone could say anything, trying to calm down before he beat his pack brother into a pulp. As he stepped into his room his eyes caught sight of Bella on the couch, talking animatedly with Seth, and she turned as she heard his approach. Her mouth started to open in a greeting when their gazes met and she stared at him, and he heard Sam curse behind him. Too late Jacob realized that his eyes were glowing the shocking yellow of the wolf and he tore his gaze away from Bella's shocked expression as he bolted for the bathroom.
He could feel the familiar tremors in his arms as he fought the wolf's instinct to phase and run, after the display in the hallway there was nothing worse he could do than to phase in the middle of a hotel. Gripping the ends of his hair he tried to steady his breathing, he hadn't felt this out of control in years, when his ears suddenly caught the sound of raised voices in the next room.
"You can't go in there!"
"The hell I can't! Get out of my way before I make you!" Bella's voice, arguing with Paul, made his wolf snarl thunderously and before he knew it he had crossed the bathroom and ripped the door open, just in time to hear a slap of skin on skin. Silence reigned through the room and he saw Paul start shaking, with Bella mere inches in front of him. Acting on instinct, Jacob grabbed the shifter's shoulder and hauled him back into the bathroom, shoving him away as Paul exploded in a ball of silver fur.
Jacob roared as Paul's claws caught him across the chest, barely hearing Bella's screams as he exploded into his russet wolf, snarling as he placed himself in front of the doorway. His anger at Lahote, Rachel, Quil and the whole vacation in general had him so worked up he couldn't force himself back to human if he wanted. And right now all he wanted was to take a chunk out of Paul's pelt, or maybe two. The silver wolf paced angrily in front of him, Paul was also worked up from the imprint and Jacob's interference, thoughts tinted red as he foamed at the mouth.
"Jacob!" Sam's voice broke through the haze of red that covered the two of them and Jacob glanced over his shoulder to see Sam holding a shell-shocked Bella, trying to make sure she kept her distance from them. "Jake, we have to get out of here. People are freaking out and calling the front desk from all the noise, it's only a matter of time before the cops show up!"
Jacob huffed angrily, glaring at Paul before he snapped at him. "We will deal with this later. Phase back and get your things."
With that Jacob turned and warily approached Bella, watching her carefully as she stared at him in awe. He nodded to Sam who released her and stepped away, letting Bella slowly come to stand in front of Jacob. He dropped to his belly, trying not to appear threatening and waited as she tentatively reached out a shaking hand to touch his fur. He purred low in his chest at the sensation as she caressed the russet strands, becoming bolder at his obvious pleasure and sinking her hand into his coat.
He instantly relaxed, and the red mist dispersed completely, allowing him to shift back almost without noticing. Bella let out a squeak of surprise as the fur disappeared, leaving her hand on his skin, and he looked up to see her staring at him, flushing a deep red. Sam interrupted them, handing Jacob a pair of jeans and he realized why Bella was blushing, his state of undress had completely slipped his mind. She tore her gaze away and he took the chance to slip them on, not bothering to button them as he stood and hesitantly reached for her. "Bells?"
To his surprise she instantly moved to him, a soft gasp escaping her as she saw the claw marks that raked his chest. "You're hurt!"
He shook his head, catching her hand as she tried to check in injury with a soft smile. "I'll be fine. We heal fast, just one of the perks of being a giant fur ball."
Her forehead wrinkled in confusion and he cupped her face gently as he coaxed her to look at him. "Bella, I'm sure you have a million questions and I promise I'll answer all of them. But thanks to me and that jackass behind us, we have to get out of here without being seen. Is there somewhere safe we can go?"
She sucked in a deep breath, focusing as she met his gaze, and nodded slowly. "My apartment. It's small, but it's close to the club so it should be safe enough."
Jake nodded, smiling at her before straightening and looking at his Pack. "You heard her. Get your stuff quick, we need to clear out now."
A/N: Tada! Well, that was exciting! A little craziness to add to the all the rest poor Jake is dealing with. Let me know what you think, thanks for reading!