Chapter Fourteen
Jared had been nervous about bringing Kim over to Sam's house today. He knew his pack brothers—they were bound to scare her away for some reason or another.
Of course, to be completely honest, it wasn't Paul that Jared worried about so much as Sam. Kim had already been on friendly enough terms with Paul from their lunch hour interactions, but Sam was a whole different story. She didn't know him. And Sam was known to be rather intimidating. Actually, sometimes he could be downright scary. Not that Jared was speaking from personal experience. No, definitely not. Of course there had never been even the briefest moment when Jared was scared of his Alpha. Nope, not a chance at all.
It was all a moot point anyway, because Kim didn't appear to be intimidated by Sam at all.
Indeed, once Sam had finally made it into the living room—with both drinks for everyone and the pizzas that had finally arrived—Kim immediately struck up a conversation with Same when he took a seat on the couch on her other side. To be honest, Jared wasn't even one-hundred percent sure what all the two were talking about (Surely they hadn't been having an hour-long conversation about Sam's construction job). What he did know, though, was that it made him immensely happy to see his imprint and his Alpha getting along so well.
What was that she said about meeting new people not being 'her thing'?
"Jared," Sam said suddenly, pausing his conversation with Kim as he glanced out the window. "It's your shift for patrol in twenty minutes."
At this, Jared frowned and turned towards the window as well to see that rain clouds were coming in, bringing an end to what had been an unusually sunny day for the Olympic Peninsula. Jared sighed. The lack of sun meant a greater chance of a cold one appearing. Patrols were definitely back on.
"Patrol?" Kim questioned, and as one Jared, Sam, and Paul all froze.
Well shit. So far, Jared had successfully avoided explaining to Kim just what it was he did when he went to work every day. Mostly this was so he could avoid making up any elaborate lies or half-truths Kim would be sure to question. Or, rather, simply so he just didn't need to lie to Kim at all. Also, by not talking about patrol at all, Jared could happily pretend that he really was just another normal teenager in a normal teenage relationship, just like Kim thought they were. And Sam and Paul both knew Kim didn't know the whole truth about what Jared was, yet. It wasn't like with Sam and Emily; Jared had plenty of time to explain things to her and he was slowly working his way up to telling Kim about shape-shifting wolves and imprints. But he wasn't quite ready for the truth to come out just yet.
"Patrol the reservation," Sam seemed to recover first. Or maybe it was just that he saw that Jared was clearly still frozen in panic. "It's what we do; kind of like volunteer policemen. The elders put us in charge of keeping the tribe safe."
Kim frowned slightly. "The elders put teenagers in charge of that?"
"What? You don't think we can handle it?" Paul asked sharply, his hands beginning to shake slightly at the perceived threat against him and his pack mates. Kim jumped slightly, clearly surprised at Paul's sudden, seemingly irrational, anger.
This finally unfroze Jared, who was on his feet in the blink of an eye, pulling Kim up behind him.
"We should head out now if I'm on in twenty," Jared spoke swiftly, steering Kim out of the room in front of him and keeping himself between his imprint and a perceived threat to her. "I'll be back after I bring Kim home."
"It was nice to meet you, Sam!" Kim called over her shoulder as Jared continued you to push her gently, but firmly, out of the house.
Once Jared was sure Kim was safely in the truck, he got in as well and immediately began speeding away from Sam's house and a potentially phased and angry wolf. He needed to keep his imprint safe.
"What was that about?" Kim asked immediately once Jared started driving away, her tone making him flinch. He glanced over at her to see a severe frown across her face, causing him to flinch again.
"It's complicated," Jared said slowly.
"Which part?" Kim asked dryly.
Jared sighed, but admitted, "All of it. The job…Paul's anger…why we left so quickly."
"And are you going to explain it to me? Any of it?" Kim pressed, and now Jared could pick up the faint hint of concern in her tone. Kim was worried about him. Well that finally answered the lingering question in the back of his mind about whether or not she'd heard the rumors going around La Push that he, Paul, and Sam had formed a gang. But it also made him feel guilty because he couldn't explain it all right now and relieve her worry.
Jared sighed again as he pulled to a stop in from of Kim's house, turning to her with a remorseful expression.
"I can't right now," He told her, "There isn't enough time; I have to get back to Sam's for pa—work. But Iwill tell you," Jared continued earnestly, impulsively reaching forward and grasping one of Kim's hands lightly in his own.
"Actually," He continued with a self-deprecating roll of his eyes, "This has everything to do with my post-fifth date serial killer confession."
And finally, finally some of the tension appeared to drain from Kim as a small smile flickered across her face.
"I have to work tomorrow morning," Jared said, "But after that I'm all yours. I'll explain everything to you then. I can even take you on that best fifth date ever that I promised you, if you want?" He finished hesitantly, sure she was going to completely shoot him down.
Kim was silent for a long moment, searching Jared's face for…something. What, he wasn't entirely sure, but she seemed to have found it when she finally replied.
"Promise?" She checked.
"I promise," Jared stated firmly.
The next day as Jared ran patrol, his thoughts were consumed with how to explain everything to Kim. He still didn't have a clue how exactly to go about all of this. Honestly, logically it shouldn't be as difficult as he was making it out to be. But then again, his supernatural life hadn't exactly come with a How-To manual. He, Paul, and Sam were constantly trying to figure things out as they went (though the elders were some help). Take Paul for example: telling him to calm down only went so far. All of them needed to figure out how to get a handle on controlling their emotions without Sam having to Alpha-order them, as Jared had found out happened yesterday to Paul after he and Kim left Sam's house.
And then it hit him: Sam.
Jared did have a manual of sorts, and it was basically everything that had been shared through the pack mind—everything they had each experienced so far as wolves.
Jared had learned all about imprinting through Sam. And he'd seen the memory of Sam explaining the whole wolf thing to Emily. Hell, Jared had even met Emily in his wolf form. All he had to do was explain things to Kim and then show her he was telling the truth. It was as simple as that.
Why had it taken so long to figure this out?
But just as Jared was congratulating himself on figuring out how to introduce Kim to the supernatural world, he had only a split-second warning as he felt the tell-tale shimmer of someone phasing before he was bombarded through the pack mind with a kaleidoscope of feelings and images.
Anger.
Blood.
"You're just like your father!"
A man yelling and feeling frightened by it.
The same man walking away.
A door slamming.
More blood.
Agony.
Not my father.
Not my father.
"Just like your father!"
Rage.
Not my father!
So much blood. Why was there so much blood?
Emily!
Jared's blood ran cold as he saw through Sam's eyes.
Emily was on the ground, deathly still, blood pooling around her, three gashes down the entire right side of her face and all the way down her right arm.
So much blood! Not my father! Emily!
Sam! Jared shouted through the pack link. You need to calm down. Where are you? I can get help.
But Sam didn't respond, panicking over the fight he'd just had with Emily…all of the blood…she's too still…I killed her!
Jared howled as loud as possible and within seconds Paul had phased in, recognizing the alarm being sounded.
You need to get Sue Clearwater, Jared told him without preamble as Sam's thoughts bombarded Paul as well now, beginning to sprint for the Makah reservation. There was only one place they could be, where Sam and Emily always met up to talk lately. Emily needs help. Now. Sam phased and she was too close.
A heartbeat later and Paul was gone again, off to get help.
Jared pushed himself harder. He needed to get to Emily. He needed to help her. She was pack.
When Jared reached the familiar clearing, he phased back, stumbling slightly as he rapidly attempted to pull on his shorts and walk towards Emily's motionless and bloody form at the same time.
Suddenly, Sam appeared, a large black wolf leaping in between Jared and Emily's body, teeth bared and snarling loudly.
"I'm here to help her," Jared said instantly, raising his hands cautiously, showing that he meant no harm. "Let me help Emily, Sam. Let me pass."
Whining anxiously now, Sam darted aside immediately and began pacing in a circle around the perimeter of the clearing.
Jared rushed forward and collapsed to his knees beside Emily, whose rapid, shallow breathing and weak pulse he could now just make out at this close proximity to her. He didn't have time to sigh in relief that she was still alive; he recognized that she was going into shock. Gathering her into his arms as carefully as the pressing situation would allow, Jared held her close, using his high body temperature to warm her. She couldn't die. He wouldn't let her. More help was coming.
His body heat seemed to help as Emily's skin appeared to be less clammy and her eyes slowly blinked open, her gaze disoriented.
In a flash, Sam's huge wolf form was beside them. He was still whimpering in agony and Jared saw Emily's jaw attempting to move, to fight the pain and speak through her ruined mouth.
"It's okay, Emily," Jared said quickly, "Don't try to talk; it will only hurt you more. I've got you. Everything is going to be okay. Help is coming."
He looked up as his enhanced wolf hearing caught the distant but familiar sound of his truck's engine. He held Emily closer.
"Help is coming."