AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the author's note, but wanted to thank that one guest review that has been waiting every day for this update. You inspired me to get it done today. Hope you enjoy.


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Chapter 17


Change didn't happen overnight.

Little moments of coming back to La Push had started the change she felt now.

A thousand nights had passed with Jude trying to hold onto that girl that had loved her family, loved Conner and her high-school varsity life with a fiery passion, and was still shackled with the guilt of giving it up after the tug-of-war with the spirits.

Jude had been a coward then, and now she felt as if she was letting that girl go by coming to the Black House. She was confronting it, after two days of mulling her mother's words.

On the car ride over, Jude had twisted and obeyed the call in her bones to come here, and now this Tuesday morning she knocked on Jacob's front door with purpose.

The turmoil of the tumultuous weekend, an end to that horrible Spring Week still rolled over her in waves.

As she stood there, Jude was not sure if it felt more like Billy's or Jacob's place. But since both of them would come as a package whatever Jacob chose, she might as well just call it the Black House now. As she waited for someone to answer, a raven's caw brought her out of her mind.

"Oh god, not you again."

It couldn't be a the same possessed Raven that watched her from her house every morning. It couldn't be, the spirits shouldn't be able to do that, but she felt like things weren't going to be that easy. Life wasn't like that for Leah and Seth, and so that meant that her very own hellish curse was going to rear it's head.

Sure enough, the suspicious Raven cawed again. It began hopping down the tree, flying over Billy's untrimmed yard, and landing on the railing. It hopped down the wooden railing of the porch, way too close to her for any regular old raven. It cocked it's head at her, daring her ire.

"Don't say it," Jude muttered.

It puffed up its wings, "Moonsea! Moonsea! Moonsea!"

"Damn you bird!" She waved it away, struggling to get it off the railing, and the front door opened as it flew off.

"Um?" It wasn't Jacob. "Can I help you?"

It wasn't Billy either. It was a raven-haired woman, possibly two years her major, with cute bangs that brushed against her finely arched eyebrows. Those bangs framed the same type of brown eyes as her brother. Rebecca was still in Hawaii, and so this had to be, "Rachel Black?"

"Yes," for a moment the woman looked surprised that Jude knew who she was. "Who are you?"

"I'm hurt," Jude played with her, "you don't remember me Rachel? After your dad let me use your room this last week?"

"Jude? Oh my god, you grew up," she made a noise between a snort and a grumble, looking at her chest, and Jude checked to see if she had smeared any of her breakfast on her chest.

"That is so not fair," Rachel grumbled.

"What isn't?"

"Why couldn't I have grown a boob size?"

Jude hid the blush by moving in for a hug, "Rachel! Stop it!"

"Damn. Two boob sizes," she said hugging Jude approvingly that made Jude groan out a, ok, that's enough.

Jude was completely thrown off by Rachel's subtle confidence. "You've come out of your shell Rachel." Jude mulled it over, "not sure if that is such a good thing."

"College does that," she rolled her shoulders. Messing up her bangs, "I didn't even get to talk to you after the funeral. There was so many people. I'm sorry Jude. How is the family doing?"

"We're staying strong. Leah and Seth have been wonderful. Everyone from town has been dropping off food." She looked a bit upset that someone had failed to mention this to her. "Oh don't' worry Rachel, we have too much food now. We had to give some to the Call family. I am not even sure anyone at my house feels like eating these days."

Rachel nodded as if she could understand.

Jude had remembered Rachel being a shadow of Rebecca's exuberant happiness. Out of the two Black twins, Rachel was like the color of a muted grey, calm and assured in herself, but that didn't mean she hadn't learned form Rebecca to have a good time. She was very much like Billy, and the complete opposite of Jacob's untamed aggression earlier today.

The day was actually ending when Rachel invited Jude in after there lengthy conversation about Jude's life in New Mexico. Rachel was curious on how it felt to be a young mother, and then after their legs get tired from sitting for so long talking about Jordan's last Christmas fiasco, Rachel mentioned Billy was being dropped off by Charlie in a bit. They would be hungry. That made them head to the kitchen.

Jude felt compelled to ask, "was Jacob here today?"

Her eyes going to Jacob's room's door visible from the hallway. It had been two days since she had even asked about him, "was he sleeping in today?"

"No," Rachel chuckled as if she found it funny. "I haven't seen him all day, if you see him make sure you tell him that he has a mess in his room and just because he got a job with the Elders doesn't mean he can't wait for days to clean it up."

Jude never imagined Jacob's life outside name-calling her, being part of the pack, and pining after Bella Swan. To think that he had problems with keeping things clean, and that the had an older sister get on his ass just like Jude had done for Seth sounded hilarious. Jude caught the laugh before it came out, coughing. "Sure, sure I will tell him that Rachel." As if, he would ever stick around to listen to her.

She wasn't finished. "I swear that boy is so filthy, Billy just enables him. But of course, some things never change. Is Seth like that?"

"We lucked out," Jude chuckled under her breath. "Leah and my mom have hounded him for so many years. I guess, he just cleans out of habit now." They both shared a laugh over that.

The sound of a car pulling up sent Jude's nerves on edge.

She relaxed when she heard Billy, and the voice of another man.

Her heart sped up at the sight of a red-eyed Charlie Swan and an equally red-eyed Billy. They had been crying, and now she felt like an idiot for intruding on Billy's house like this.

"I'm sorry," Jude stood. "I'll come back at a better time."

"No, don't leave," Billy wheeled skillfully right next to Jude, tapping on her arm, and slightly waving his Chiefly hand as if by some magic it would make her sit back down, "stay, I haven't seen you in a couple of days."

"Oh no, I hate to intrude."

"You're not," he made a face. "This is your home Jude too, I already told you that," those words that had nothing to do with magic sent a ripple through her. From the corner of her eye, Jude saw Rachel smiling, and how she put a drink in front of her. It was the mango juice she had become addicted to while staying here. Billy had talked about her, That was a nice development. Jude wasn't' sure how Billy's daughter would take her coming into her home, and it would seem she didn't hate her that much, if at all.

Rachel piped up. "He just won't shut-up about your pasta," she showed Jude the ingredients she had prepared for making it in the fridge. "I still have to get a few things from the store, Jude came to speak with you Dad," she broke the ice, "do you guys need anything before I go?"

Billy looked like the proudest father, and Jude knew the one and only reason was because his daughter was back. Jude wondered if he would glow like the sun if Rebecca had chosen to come back too. Jude wouldn't doubt it.

"Sure hun, you take whatever time you need." Rachel nodded to Billy, waving to a sheepish looking Charlie that was apparently embarrassed for being caught crying, and disappeared after finding her keys.

"How are you holding up Jude?" Charlie asked a pensive Jude while Billy went to the fridge to take out two beers. "How is Sue doing?"

"My mom was cooking breakfast, the three of us try to be there, Seth is there right now, but sometimes she just wants to grieve alone y'know. There is only so much we can understand."

"I'll talk to her." Charlie promised for some reason. "She'll need all our help, right Billy?"

"Right Charlie," Billy nodded, opening his beer and tinking against Charlie's untouched one, and lifting it in the air, "to Harry! To his family!"

They all drank to that, the mango fruit juice went down smooth. It probably was not as smooth as the beer, but it felt rude to ask Billy before Jude could crack open the can of worms her mother had put into her lap.

Sue Clearwater had confessed everything Sam had told them of the imprinting bond and what it meant for the wolf and his mate.

She had explained what it meant to Jared and Kim, and now what it would mean to Paul and Rachel. A boob joking around Rachel, whom was still in the dark about the pack, was going to get a rude awakening in the form of a bad boy wolf.

That was why Jude had felt a pity as she watched the Black girl drive off as if there wasn't a wolf following her off to Forks and back again. Seth said that Paul was getting more watchful of his mate since they had hunted and killed a nomadic vampire.

They were not sure if it was rogue or one of Victoria's made vampires, because their insider, Bella Swan, was no longer around to tell them the difference. Charlie's daughter had jumped Forks with her female Cullen friend, or so the rumors went.

Maybe that would mean Rachel could continue to be blissful from the truth, and never have to go through what Emily and Jude knew of the wolf pack. Those who didn't know would be innocent of the celebration that we would make when the vampires stopped coming to haunt Forks. Jude looked forward for the day when Sam, Jared, Paul, Seth, Leah, hell the whole pack could stop phasing, and go back to their normal lives.

The day we could put this all behind us, Jude thought as she sipped the mango in appreciation.

The Chief of Police cleared his throat. "Bella is coming back from Europe," Charlie said. "She called me this morning, I was waiting all day to tell you." He nodded to Billy that had come back with two waters instead of two beers.

Billy was very careful with his words, too careful. "What did she say?"

"She says she'll be back tomorrow."

That made me feel relieved for some reason. Jacob would feel better having her back. Seth had said he had went a little crazy when she ran away for the second time. No doubt that was what Charlie was feeling too, even if his pursed lips said differently.

Jacob's father patted his friends' back. "That's good to hear Charlie. This is Bella's home." Billy took a drink of water to follow the beer, smacking his lips. "It's good that she came to her senses. That she is letting that family go for good. It's better this way Charlie you'll see. Jacob will be happy for it too, get him out of this funk he's in."

Jude was pulled back to reality at the mention of her imprint's unofficial girlfriend, and Jacob's love crisis he must be going through at the moment. It surprised her that she actually knew Billy's veiled advice about the Cullens being bad news. Charlie didn't know. He didn't have a clue what Bella coming back would do to the wolf pack of La Push, and how it would affect the people that loved and prayed for their safe return every night.

That was why Jude was not prepared when Charlie said, "she is coming back with Cullens."

Billy froze at the same moment Jude did too.

She heard herself say. "The Cullens." Jude felt her fingers become cold, twitching in fear, "they're coming back here?"

"Yes." Charlie was glum answer when he should be raging. "I don't how I am going to tell her she can't see him. That what she did by running after him was not responsible. I don't understand her," there was a sadness in his voice. "He hurt her for so long. I thought she wanted better." In some way, Bella's father knew of the danger that came with the Cullens.

Billy was quiet as Charlie continued turning it on his friend, "he was never good for her. Why is she doing this Billy? Why is she choosing this?"

Jude was sure Jacob asked himself this question every day.

"I don't know Charlie," Billy drank his water, sullen with the news, and didn't offer his good friend more than that.

Meanwhile, Jude was terrified.

She slumped into her seat when a lone wolf howled in pain, and so close to the treeline near Billy's house that he had heard their conversation.

I'm so sorry Jacob.


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When Charlie left in his police cruiser, Billy finally opened up, yelling, cursing, and Jude sat there watching him, letting him rage it up, and understanding the reason for it because she was holding back from doing so. Their was a little piece of woods outside the Clearwater house. It had plenty of flat rocks she could chuck in her own anger, probably set some glass bottles up, get the satisfaction of breaking every one, but that would have to wait.

Right now, Billy needed someone to hear him out.

"I was this close to telling him, telling him the whole truth, about the Cullens, those leeches." He shook his head in anger, and rubbed his face until his nose was more cherry than tan. "I need to call Sam, and get the Elders. They need to make a perimeter, make sure the Cullens know where the treaty line is," he asked Jude to get his home phone, and she got it for him.

She would be patient. She knew her conversation about the imprint would have to wait until after the bigger problem that came with that damn selfish Bella Swan.

While Charlie had been here, Jude had held back the hate and disgust of Bella's stupid choice to bring vampires back into her family's life. It was as if she wanted to hurt them, wanted to continue to destroy Seth and Leah's life, and… break Jacob's heart.

When Billy hung up after explaining to Sam what Charlie had said.

Jude got up again to serve them some of that delicious mango juice.

She drank this one much quicker, her thirst increasing when she forced herself to say, "Billy?"

He sighed as he rubbed his chin. "Yes, Jude."

"What can I do for you? Do you want me to get Rachel, or make you something?"

He had not been expecting that, and that was when he truly looked at her. This was the first moment he had taken to notice that Jude was still here, and what Rachel had told them when Charlie dropped the figurative nuke on their shaky peace with the Cullens leaving for good.

"Rachel said you had something to tell me?"

"It's not important anymore," that was a lie, but Jude knew he was not ready for this conversation.

Just like his son, Billy was a stubborn. "It's okay. We have time."

How could she tell him? Maybe... Jacob already told him, she hoped his son had mentioned something, anything, because coming out and just telling him seemed like she would be doing the same thing Charlie had done moments before.

"Billy," Jude wrung her hands together, nervous, "I don't think it's my place to talk about it."

"Ugh, oh," he chuckled nervously too, "it's not good if you're nervous about talking. Now that makes me nervous too. What did you do?"

It wasn't funny this time around. This was very serious. "At least this time wasn't completely my fault. I..." Jude could not believe that her father was gone in that moment as Billy watched her curiously. That she couldn't have this conversation with Harry first, and know what he would have advised her how to open it up to Billy without sounding like a complete moron.

Jude sighed, and closed her eyes. "Has Jacob told you anything recently?" It was vague, but it was a start.

His eyebrows came together. "Jacob? My Jacob?" That threw Billy off, and that made Jude feel even more guilty. He rubbed the side of his face, no doubt it was one of those migraines he always complained about. He answered. "No, I barely saw him since the funeral. If he isn't sleeping he's patrolling, and he's not off patrolling-"

Jude knew this was not the right thing to do then. Jacob was ignoring it. Why shouldn't she do the same… telling his father seemed like she was betraying him in some way. Maybe, Jacob didn't believe in confrontation, or telling his father about something this personal. Maybe, she would be betraying his trust if she confessed to this.

"Judith Clearwater," Billy leaned forward in his seat, "you tell me what you did right now."

She came clean. "I imprinted."

Billy's curious looks died on his face. Falling back into his grim face from before. He was a smart man, smarter than she had given him credit for. He croaked out the words. "Jacob imprinted on you."

Jude hung her head. "Yes."

If Charlie had made the room tense, this was a bombshell, and Jude felt the tears coming now, and she sobbed harder than she had in a long time. Billy ended up patting her back, and Jude felt worse for pushing this on him. She repeated the same thing. "I'm sorry Billy. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry-" she was worse off than the Raven.

"There, there Jude," he kept patting her back, "let it out, just let it all out." She did, comforted that Billy hadn't called her a string of Quileute curses like had done to Bella just now. He would be in the right to do so. It was not right that Jacob was saddled with her, a girl that had ten times the baggage that Bella had, and she didn't even have the excuses of having vampires in her life.

"I wanted to talk to Jacob," Jude explained to him, after he gave her the whole tissue box. "I wanted to ask him what he wanted, but I couldn't find him at Emily's house. I decided to come here, and confront him about it, but then I heard that he hadn't been around, and I didn't want keep this inside. It was eating me. It hurts like hell, and from what my mother told me, Jacob must feel it too."

Billy muttered. "What did Sue tell you?"

Jude repeated every word, every story Sam had told Harry about the reason why he had let Leah go, and most importantly the part that horrified Jude.

The rule that the wolf was supposed to become whatever the imprint wanted.

"I don't want Jacob to hurt Billy," that was the start of it. "I don't want to take anything else from him after all his decisions were taken with the wolf. If he didn't want to speak to me, that's fine." It really wasn't fine, but Jude knew that his wolf would make him hurt for hurting her. Something that she was not going to do if it killed her. "I wanted him to know that he has the choice to do what he wants. Imprinting on me," saying that to Billy gave Jude goosebumps up and down her forearms. She rubbed at it. "Imprinting doesn't change anything he has with Bella."

Billy raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

"Billy." Jude whined, "don't question me like that. You're only going to make it worse."

He raised his hands in surrender. For some reason there was a smile on his face. "Don't tell me it doesn't change things when all the imprints are changed after it happens."

"Well this will be different. Our imprint will be different than the rest."

Billy had the balls to smile as if Rachel walked into the room. "Is it, our imprint, already?"

"That's it." Jude slapped my jumpy knees. "We're done here." She left Billy chuckling to himself over something she couldn't see.

Rachel getting out of her car as Jude got into hers, "you're leaving already? I thought we were making food together?"

She saw Jude's red puffy eyes.

"Oh no, what happened?"

"Ask your Dad," Jude shot back, only to regret saying it like that. "Sorry, I'm just upset, see you around Rach."

Jude had already done enough damage, no point bringing Rachel into it, and her dashboard told her it was only nine-o'clock in the evening.

She had plenty more time to drink her pain away.

There was her father's beer stash in garage refrigerator.

She ignored the furry friend that followed her back to the Clearwater House. It was rushing through the foliage of the evergreen canopy while she drove like a madwoman.

When she got there, her mother's head looked up from washing the dishes. Jude ignored her as she stalked right into the garage, pulling on the cobweb neon lights so she could see her way through the tools, rusty machines, and the 1970 chevelle ss that hadn't been turned on in years, and get to the hum of the refrigerator leaning against the back wall.

She yanked it open to grab a beer, and took the snapped the cap off with the side of a wooden cutting table.

In seconds, she drank it down completely.

She grabbed another, and chugged that one quicker than the first.

The third was a bit difficult to swallow since she felt like vomiting the two before.

She opened the car door, laid her body on the dusty seat, the springs groaning against her body, and she closed her spinning eyes for a moment.

She felt like crying, vomiting, cursing Bella, cursing Jacob, calling Casey, running to her mother in the kitchen, and then maybe walking up to the Whitney house and telling Conner all about their son.

Jude felt like shit, she felt like she was right back to where she had started, and it was never going to… she belched.

Jude leaned up, forgetting her beer, and getting out of the garage in time before she vomited the beer and mango juice on the grass and mud of their backyard.

Before her mother came out to find out what she was up to, or Seth and Leah smelled it Jude watered it down with the backyard hose. She watered it until she could no longer smell or see it, and then watered it again just for the safety of wolves that could smell practically anything a mile away.

She watched it disappear into the earth.

In the swaying pine trees behind her, a Raven cawed.

"Fuck."


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The next day she needed a break.

First beach was a peaceful place that Wednesday morning, even when Jude was not feeling it.

She searched across the ocean and the surrounding landscape as she jogged on the coastline. Her ears becoming distracted by the calming sound of rushing waves, and the soothing sight of the sea's foam left behind her as the water receded back to its home. The rhythmic beauty should have soothed her as well, but that would be a lie.

Seth jogged beside her. Her wolf guardian today it would seem. "Your getting old Jude." He inched closer, "and fat."

She swatted him, but he moved in a blur.

"You're just too fast," Jude bit back at him as he effortlessly left her behind, "but I will get you when your sleeping."

She let her surroundings steal her away again.

Jude was west of the Olympic mountain range and fourteen miles from the the largest city, and here she could gather her thoughts between where the sea of evergreens was being sprayed by the roaring Pacific Ocean. It is here that her spiritually in-tune people have lived for centuries. The secluded coastline of the Quileute reservation had been home to crescent shaped beaches littered with driftwood and rocky shorelines that called for beach water shoes or at least tennis when crossing over.

Seth's powerful naked feet were a different story.

Jude feared for the pebbled shoreline rather than her energetic brother. The very same rocky shoreline was the one she was jogging on now. Up ahead there was some rocky boulders filled with crevices of tidal pools, eroding red and tan sea stacks, and in the distance was where the main Quillayute River emptied into the ocean.

Jude let her voice carry. "Remember when Dad and his buddies would cliff dive up there."

"Yup," Seth sent her an impish smile.

She listened to that nagging voice in her head. "The pack jumps off them too? Don't tell me you have too!"

"Yup." He repeated, too happy about it.

She couldn't really blame him.

Many locals and tourists alike shared the abundant beauty of plunging cliffs for diving, isolated underwater caves, scenic hikes that cut deep into the mountains. Her favorite had been the hike to the waterfall, also known as Taylor Point. It had been years since she had seen it.

Despite the passing years, La Push was still a national refuge for all forms of wildlife, especially the growing wolf population.

Seth said out of nowhere. "How's Casey doing?"

"She's fine," Jude shrugged, "pissed that I need a break from soccer, but she can't complain. Why? You don't have a crush on her do you?"

He rolled his eyes, "I was glad I didn't imprint on her. That would have sucked."

Jude growled at the insult, and he apologized.

"Come on Seth," Jude groaned as they took a break. "The forest has ears. I am pretty sure some of the guys would have taken that offensively. You don't choose who you imprint on. You know that."

Her once sweet Seth rolled his eyes once again, "do you know she is part of the hunters that tries to hunt down our pack? Some of the locals even Charlie Swan is apart of it."

"Yeah I know about it Seth. Like Mom said, you have to be careful." It surprised her to find out that Chief Charlie and many other hunters had tried to hunt or even capture pack members, and that made her worried about their secret, or god forbid one of the pack being shot by a trigger happy moron.

It made her feel helpless whenever Seth, Leah, or any of them went on their patrols and she was stuck at the still-repairing Clearwater home, cleaning around the construction, grocery shopping, and all but twiddling her thumbs.

Her fears were laid to rest the moment she saw how fast Seth and in addition the Spirit Warriors really were.

"Time me," Seth told her when he began to sprint across the beach, faster than she could actually see.

It was always seconds when he reached the the pebbled end.

She stopped her watch. "Five seconds!"

He pumped his hand in the air, and went faster, disappearing up a hill into the dense overgrowth of pines and mossy tree-trunks.

Jude slowly followed behind him, because even if she knew this path well, she was not graced with the super fast endurance like the wolves.

Nevertheless, she could still enjoy the human jog.

Some other humans were enjoying it too. "Hey Jude!"

She waved back. "Hey Kim, practicing for the marathon?"

"Yup," she waved goodbye, "see you around!"

Kim and a few of her friends waved at her as competitively jogged in preparation for the tribal school long-distance marathon that was coming up. Locals and tourists knew First Beach was a great beach to jog on.

Jude didn't need to follow the footprints Seth left behind in the sinking sand to know the way they usually went. Jude's eyes were distracted by the bright sky above and she found the light hit off the naked back of her brother that was now running to the sea water.

She watched the way his bare feet slapped against the ground as he dived into the frigid sea. He was having fun, even with the looming threat of bloodthirsty leeches, and the possibility of even more returning with the Cullens and Bella coming back today.

"Wooohooo!" Seth dived into the water.

He didn't return for a breath, and so that made her quicken her pace to him.

When he resurfaced Jude could breath again, and he unknowingly went deeper into the water. Even if he was a wolf, she watched him all the same.

While Jude was jogging along the shore, watching, she could remember Sam's words, "protect her," he said to Seth, as if he was going to ditch her.

He had become even more territorial over everyone's safety, even if they were staying on their side of the treaty line because the Cullen's were coming.

Jude had messed with him that morning, "What if I just wanted to-"

"Nope," Sam left nothing to chance, "you can go with your sister to First Beach or one of the guys."

"What about restroom breaks, should Embry wait outside my door, or on the inside," Jude said figuratively poking fun at Sam's furious face, and trying not to laugh so an embarrassed Embry wouldn't feel so bad. "I mean what if the leech got in through the window?"

"You know what I mean Jude," Sam said pointing a finger at Jude's empty seat. "Sit down, shut up, and stop making me angry."

"Yes Alpha Sam." She played the submissive imprint. "Whatever you say Alpha Sam!"

He shivered in anger and went outside.

"Oh leave him alone Jude," Emily pleaded, "he is only trying to do his best."

"He doesn't have to be a dick about it," I muttered, and Sam growled outside.

Jude had much to learn about the supernatural world.

What was safe and unsafe, and if her siblings couldn't tell her, than an Alpha Sam was there to set her straight. As the Alpha, he had told the Elders, pack, and imprints that when the vampire family came, the Cullens, they could no longer roam over the border without causing a war.

That had made Jacob turn into a ticking time bomb. Jude would hear him answer Sam's constant questions with sarcastic and sharp retorts. "What about Bella? Doesn't she get a say?"

Paul would mutter something like. "What Bella? I don't see her here."

Jude and the pack would watch him storm out of Emily's kitchen as they made plans for the Cullens, and flinch when his car or bike flew off like hell on wheels.

That had bothered Jude the most.

She would feel as if an ice dagger had shoved itself into her chest. It would wiggle there whenever Jacob so much as ignored her or when she knew he was hurting.

Seth called for her. "Hey Jude! Look at me." He splashed backwards, and her not so little brother came out of the water dripping wet, but of course his temperature was too hot for the cold to affect him so only wearing his pants just made her imagine the rash he would get between his legs.

"Don't get in the sand, it'll give you a rash between your legs," Jude yelled out.

He rolled his eyes. His resurfacing from the sea made a few pale face girl's whistle and call to him. They were laying on towels as some of their guys were surfing the waves way out in the waters. "Chow, wow, come over here pretty boy!"

"Yeah, don't be shy!"

"La Push hottie! Wow!"

Who? Jude looked around. It was only Seth and he was only fourteen.

It was Seth that they were cat-calling.

"Disgusting," Jude hated these girls. Hated that she had once done the same to Jared, Paul, and even Jacob when she had first saw them for the first time. She had not been this vocal, but still.

"Hey Jude!"

Oh no, "Hey Mike!" Jude waved back, turning her face to the waves, and kept jogging before Jessica saw her. She didn't need to make good on her stupid fighting words.

This was supposed to be a safe place. Pale-faces were welcome on the beach, but still, something rolled in Jude's belly whenever they got close to the pack. Sometimes it felt better just to have the whole beach just for the tribe, because at least their tribe knew to keep a safe distance from the pack boys.

The outsiders only saw really buff and built Natives, and they treated them as pieces of meat rather than people. That was the worst part.

Seth showed off his muscles, and Jude had enough.

"Stop showing off stupid." Jude growled at her brother to stop as they kept jogging, pushing him to keep going, and he did so. If people were whistling at Seth than that would mean Jacob was getting girl's phone numbers… stop. She couldn't think of him like that.

"Hey slow-poke." Seth had already jogged back to her. "You are lucky Leah isn't here to whip your butt back into shape. Come on, we are almost done with the whole beach."

"We already ran three miles Seth," Jude says, hoping he would get how very tired out he made her feel, and how she now wants nothing more than to sleep in the bed she shared with her mother, or nestle in her dad's old leather armchair, "we going to run every day. I don't know why your pushing me like this."

Seth snorted. "This is just the warm up Jude."

"Are you serious," that makes her cough-laugh. "I am just getting better from the fever this weekend. Do you want to get me sick again?"

"You're just saying that because mom says it."

"I am starting to think she is right about me. I mean if I go running with wolves, there is only so much my human body can take."

"Okay human, I will be easy on you," Seth looked towards the waves and took a deep breath of the sea. Jude wondered if he had super-wolf smell too. Leah said everything was heightened as a wolf, and for once she was jealous of her little brother.

"So you still like Paul," Seth asked out of nowhere.

Jude's rumbling belly answered, and she rubbed it down. "For the record, I never liked Paul. So whatever the pack's gossiping make sure that's understood."

"Fine by me." Chipper little fuck. He had the balls to continue. "I wasn't the one that made a big deal of him not noticing me."

Jude groaned, her cheeks flaming. "God that's embarrassing. It makes me feel like I did something bad to Rachel. How was I supposed to know what the imprint actually meant, or who is matched up to who?"

Jude looked over to her too cheery brother, "just wait till you imprint. I would hate to see you embarrass yourself!"

"I would not be embarrassed." Seth was quick to say, as if it was stupid to even think it. "When I imprint on her, we will just click. We will go like that," he connected his fingers together. "And then we won't have problems like all the other imprints have."

"Oh, they should have problems," Jude warned him, "that is what a relationship is all about, dealing with the problems together. Who told you that relationships didn't have problems?"

He sounded so sure of himself, "Sam and Emily don't have that many problems."

"Sam is Emily's little bitch," I said, groaning because Seth would have to cover that from getting to his Alpha, or maybe not, "try to think of that the next time you patrol with Sam. Might teach him to have a bit of a back-bone haha."

"You're mean Jude," Seth sighed as if she was the one with the problem.

"I know," she looks up to see Leah jogging to them, "is it time for the pack meeting already?"

"Yeah," Leah brushes leaves out of her hair, "Sam wants us there Seth. We have to be quick."

Her siblings ask if she wanted them to walk her back to the car.

"No, guys," Jude shakes her head, "who is the older sibling here guys? I can go myself. I'm not a baby." Jude had say to them, for once taking her natural place in this triumvirate. "I mean come on, I will only be keeping you guys back. You guys should pretend that you dropped me off at mom's, and then I will drive over to Sam's house and he can yell at me for coming over unchaperoned. Good?"

"I don't want you getting in trouble-" Seth doesn't like the idea.

Leah is ready to kiss me. "Sounds great to me. I like the way you think Jude." Leah said ducking her arm over her older sister's head and pulling down and messing her bun up.

Jude struggled for breath in Leah's tight hold. "You're only agreeing because Sam is going to be upset."

"Exactly," Leah says releasing her, and Jude rubs her neck. She is going to have a bruise there now, and she fingers her keys from her hoodie pocket, and started heading to the car. "Are you guys sure you don't want me to drive you? Sam can wait thirty minutes."

They are already taking off their clothes, and tying it around their legs. Nakedness is next to normality among these two, and it disturbs Jude in a way that she will never say.

That answers her question. "I guess you guys want to go wolf instead?"

"Like you have to ask," Seth says and he phases into his own wolf, and farther ahead Leah's wolf waits for him. Her feminine body, smaller than the other males, is covered in shining silver fur, and she is stark difference against the gangly sand-colored fur of Seth.

Jude could pick them out of the pack easily now. She watches as they run and lunge their furry butts into the underbrush, and leave Jude very alone on the empty beach.

"I am never going to get used to that? Am I?"

The ocean's waves is her only answer.

"Nope. I guess not," she sluggishly got into her car, ripped her tires against the dirt path, and wished once again that the spirits had made her into a wolf instead of a boring human.

At least then she would have a reason for her life going to hell, and then she never would have imprinted on Billy's already heartbroken son.


o0o0o0o0o0TMS0o0o0o0o0o


After she had showered, and gathered a few things to bring over, Jude pulled up her car to Sam and Emily's place.

The pack was inside of the kitchen, and Emily was cooking by the sounds of boys calling for plates and forks to be passed around. Jude leaned over in her seat to fish for the platter of pastries her mother had brought from Seattle to cheer the guys up. They needed a little something after all this vampire talk. It was mostly Seth's favorite double chocolate cupcakes, but there were other fruity ones for the pack members that weren't chocolate lovers. Jude had a feeling they wouldn't care what they tasted like when their wolves that needed more food than their human bellies could carry.

Leah could eat this whole platter by herself and not gain a pound.

It didn't' seem fair, but Jude sure she wouldn't want to deal with the danger of tearing a new one into every vampire that tried to tear you one too-

"Do you need help with those?"

That voice.

At first Jude thought it was Embry coming to help her with the food she brought, but it wasn't.

She swallowed the saliva building in her mouth, "Jacob?"

It was him.

His eyes were not filled with anger, not even close. He looked closer to how she had first seen him. Calm, collected, and cool. As if it was one of those mornings that he had complained that she was a liar, a bully to Bella, and a pain in the ass to live with. It was like the imprint hadn't happened in the first place, and that actually calmed Jude down a bit.

He repeated himself. "I asked if you wanted some help carrying things in?"

Jude found her voice, "Yes, please."

She gave him the platter of pastries, and he took it, turning from a gaping Jude, and then doubled back, and used his free hand to open the door for her, "ladies first."

Jude got out of the car staring at Jacob as if he was an alien.

His eyes narrowed. "What is it? Did I say it wrong?"

That hint of rudeness in his voice brought her back, "don't be nice to me, it freaks me out," she told him, and walked away into Emily's house before he did something else that would flip her over the edge.

All she got was a laugh from him, and she would never tell a soul that she thought it was one of the most beautiful laughs she had ever heard. That his kindness of opening the damn door was like she was in high-school prom all over again. Even better than the first time Conner had opened the door of their Math class. That it gave her belly a thousand butterflies. Better than a few orgasms... Nope. She would deny it all.

"What's wrong with your face," Leah said when she caught sight of her.

Jude lost her glazed eyes. "I'm constipated."

That got her sister to shut-up before Sam debriefed them all on the new safety rules. The mighty Alpha had made plenty more since the Cullens had touched down in Forks two hours ago, and this was meant to be the final one before their first eventual confrontation with the Head of their Coven- no family. Jude was already confused.

If all this vampire shit irritated her before, it was nothing compared to the next hour.

It didn't help that whenever Jude yawned during Sam's lengthy speech, Jacob Black's eyes would smirk over the heads of his pack members.