Chapter Six

Needless to say, I feel like I've been thrown. Hard. Probably off a cliff. And believe me, I'm definitely still falling. There's no way that it ends here. There has got to be tons more that I don't know. And I really hate there are things about my life that I don't know.

I wish my mother was here. After all, she was the Awahnee Indian of the family. Sure, I've got the blood in me, but since she died, my father hasn't tried really hard to make sure that I stay in touch with my roots. And to be quite honest, I don't really want to. It's too painful. It reminds me of her too much.

But she would probably know what's going on.

I'm also sure that Jacob would know what is going on, and he would also tell me if he got some time. Unfortunately, everyone was content to give him a hard time. Honestly, I feel pretty bad for the kid. So in love with a girl that he was driven from his home when she didn't choose him? That's pretty harsh.

I find myself wondering if he's in love with me. Obviously, being that I am his imprint, he feels some sort of strong attachment to me, but does that equate to love?

Add that to the list of things that I don't know.

I find myself really wanting to talk to Gavin, if that makes any sense at all. If Jacob is right (and I have to remind myself that Jacob could also be lying), then I have no reason to trust Gavin. But that doesn't change the fact that he has been my best friend for three years.

So … I have a decision to make. Have my father be mad at me and stay in the dark, or have my father be REALLY mad at me and find out what's going on.

Come on. Really? As if that was tough. Either way my dad is going to be mad at me, so the degree of anger doesn't really matter to me. I mean, he's my father. He has to go on loving me eventually.

I really want to call Gavin, but I decide it would be better to get out of my house, first. Obviously rolling out the front door is not going to work out, so I go for the window. There's a bit of roof that overhangs the front porch, and I figure that if I hold onto it and let myself drop, it won't be that far.

Yeah … that was what I thought. However, as I'm hanging off the roof, I find myself wishing that I had thought it through more thoroughly.

"Just let go," I hear a familiar voice from beneath me. "I won't even let you hit the ground." I look beneath me to see Jacob. Though I'm glad to see him, I'm still a little skeptical. It's not like I am a small girl. No, I'm not fat, but I'm tall; about 5'10". "Come on. Trust me. And I have some things to tell you that I'm sure you want to know about."

Now, this is what I'm talking about. I let go of the edge of the roof. True to his word, Jacob doesn't even let my feet touch the ground. He catches me bridal style and smiles.

"Where are we going to go?"

"I don't really have anywhere to go," Jacob answers. "I've been sleeping outside."

"No!" I exclaim.

"Yes, I really have," Jacob says to me.

"Well, I'm sure we can find somewhere for you to sleep," I assure him as I whip out my cell phone. I do have other friends besides Gavin, friends with quite large houses with extra rooms and parents that aren't completely ridiculous.

"Yooo! Teag!" My other best friend, Camryn exclaims as she answers my phone call. "I thought I would never hear from you at all this summer, seeing as you're a working girl and all. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well," I begin, "I have a new friend who just rolled into town, but he has absolutely nowhere to stay. I asked my dad if he could crash on my couch and the old man completely flipped out. I know that you have an extra room," or two, "and I was hoping that he might be able to stay in your house for a little bit."

"Is he cute?" Camryn asks. This is not completely unexpected. I look Jacob up and down. The answer to this is obvious.

"Oh yeah," I reply.

"Then why isn't he at my house?!" She demands. "Bring him over!"

"Only one problem. We're at my house, right now, and you know I don't have a car," I tell her.

"Then I'll come pick you up, duh!"

"We can't wait for you here, though," I say to her, "because I kinda snuck out and as we're speaking I am walking away from my house."

"Roger that," Camryn replies, "well, you start walking in my direction and I'll start driving in yours."

--

I can see Camryn's face as she rolls up to us in her brand new Honda Civic. She looks dumbfounded. Camryn, like most of my friends, is 100 Awahnee. She's very into the Native American thing and tries to only have relationships with Native Americans, however, she completely hates all the Awahnee boys. They're jerks, she thinks, and she's not completely wrong.

So, she gets really excited when she sees a hot Native American that is not Awahnee.

The brakes squeal as she slams on them.

"Get in my car. Right now," she orders. "Hot boy in front."

"Hello," says Jacob politely as he opens the back door for me and then closes it after I am comfortably seated. Then, because he doesn't want to disappoint Camryn, who is being so kind to us, he folds himself into the front seat and pushes the seat back as far is it will go to accommodate his ridiculously long legs.

"So, boy of my dreams," Camryn begins, "what is your name?"

"Jacob Black," he answers. "But you can call me Jake."

"Oh, I'm gonna call you some things …" Camryn trails off. She's nuts. This is what happens when you are ridiculously rich. You become ridiculously obnoxious.

She's funny, though, so I keep her around.

"Cami, you're scaring him," I say, even though I know that she's probably not going to stop. She does and says what she wants, regardless of what anyone does or says to her.

"Me?" She responds. "I don't think so. I'm harmless, Jake."

"Really?" He asks. It's hard to tell if he's really not disconcerted by her or if he is just faking. Either way, he's doing an excellent job.

"Really," she confirms. "In fact, I don't even plan on touching you inappropriately because you're in love with my friend in the back."

"What makes you so sure about that?" Jacob asks.

"You held the door open for her," she answers, "if that's not love, I don't know what is."

"Ohmigod …" There's not much else for me to say besides that. Jacob seems amused as he looks back at me and smiles, so I guess it's not so bad.

"Oh, Teag, don't be embarrassed," she coos, "someone needs to say these things, and you are far too tactful to do it."

"I'll take that as a compliment I guess," I sigh.

"You do whatever you want with it, sweetheart," says Camryn, "it's all yours."

--

"This is your house?" Jacob asks as we roll up the driveway. Camryn doesn't live on or anywhere near the reservation. The houses aren't big enough for her family, which is pretty small. She lives about ten miles off the reservation in Oakhurst, and her house basically has its own mountain. OK, it might be more like a hill, but it's a pretty big hill, and the house isn't much smaller. It's basically a mansion. I remember her telling me all about the rooms and such, but all I can remember is it has seven bedrooms, which I guess is good because she's got four siblings. In case you don't feel like doing the math, that leaves one guest bedroom.

"One of them," Camryn answers. "Normally at this time of the year we've gone to L.A., but my father's on some big huge case there and we have to stay here for a little bit so that the people he's prosecuting don't find us and kill us."

"That's a good idea," Jacob says, "so your father's in L.A.?"

"Yeah, but my mom is here," she answers as we pull up to her four-car garage. I know that, her car and her mother's car are the only ones in there, seeing as all of Camryn's siblings are younger than she just got her license and her first car. When she pushes the button to open the garage door, we're not so pleasantly surprised. Well, at least, I was unpleasantly surprised.

"OHMIGOD! GAVIN LAWLEY IS IN MY GARAGE!" She slams on the brakes and stares straight ahead.

"I don't mean to burst your bubble, Cam," I begin, "but I don't think that he's here to talk to you."

"Well, I can dream can't I?" She asks as Gavin moves out of her spot and she pulls in. "He's so hot." She's right about that. He's looks like he's about to boil over when he sees Jacob sitting in the front seat. He practically sprints to the car and wrenches the passenger door open. "Hey! Watch my car!"

"What the hell are you doing!?" He demands as he pulls Jacob from the car.

"I was about to go to sleep," Jacob answers, "you know, I'm pretty tired. I've been running from you and your cronies all day."

"You wouldn't be running if you had left when I told you to," Gavin reminds him. This is when I get out of the car. I'm kind of tired of all of this. I grab Gavin by the shirt and start dragging him away.

"I just need to have a chat with Gavin," I say to my two other friends. "Cam, could you just bring him inside? I'll be there in a bit."

"I'm staying out here," Jacob states as he crosses his arms in front of his chest, trying to look tough.

"Oh, no you're not," Camryn says as she grabs him by his shirt and drags him across the huge garage to the door that leads to her house. "You're coming inside with me. You look like you're starving." I don't get to hear Jacob's response because I'm now focused on Gavin.

"OK, I really want to know what your problem is," I state, getting right to the point.

"Really?" Gavin asks. "Didn't you hear me when I told you that you're my imprint?"

"Yeah, I heard you, but I'm not so sure that I believe you," I answer, "I mean, comparing Jacob's behavior towards me and yours has allowed me to come across some striking contrasts."

"Teag, I know it's-"

"You have known me for about three years and I have just found out about me being your imprint," I say to him. "Jacob Black has known me for less than twenty-four hours and he wasted no time in telling me."

"He's lying, that's why!" Gavin exclaims. "Honestly, Teagan! Why are you so eager to trust a guy you barely know over me, who, in case you have forgotten, is your best friend!?"

"Why would he lie?" I demand.

"Have you looked at yourself lately?" He demands. "You're gorgeous! I would have done the same thing!"

"I don't think that Jacob would do that," I say to Gavin. "He's in love with someone else. Some girl from Washington who's about to marry a vampire or something. And I really don't think he's lying … well, he's lying about not being in love with her anymore. It's kind of obvious that he is."

"He's just a good actor, that's all!" He's basically screaming, now.

"Well, in case you haven't forgotten, so are you!" I'm screaming right back. "For three years I've followed you around like a little lost puppy! You had to have noticed how I feel about you." Gavin sighs.

"I admit that my course of action probably wasn't the best, in retrospect," he states, "but I didn't want to freak you out. How weird would it have been if I just told you that you're my soul mate the very moment I met you?"

"Jacob did it, it wasn't that weird," I said to him.

"Shut up about what Jacob did!" Gavin orders. "I know exactly what he's doing and I'm not going to let him do it. What's going on here is impossible. There is only one imprint per wolf and one wolf per imprint. You can't belong to both of us."

"So, one of you is lying," I conclude.

"Well, it's not me."

"Your behavior these past three years is not leading me to trust you," I remind him as I start walking towards the door that leads into the main house. "You've either been lying to me for as long as I've known you, or you're lying to me now."

"I'm not proud of lying to you!" He exclaims. "If I had a chance to do it over I would do it completely differently." The tone of his voice has changed now. He sounds like he's in pain. "Can't you feel the difference?"

"That's just the thing," I begin, "it feels the same. Exactly the same. There are no differences." Now he looks really hurt, like I've ripped out his heart and stomped on it.

"You know, if I don't kill him," he begins as he starts leaving the garage, "someone else is going to do it. Are you coming tonight?"

Gavin is in a band. Nothing serious, it's just something he does for fun. He likes music. So, he plays the guitar and sings. Not very well, but it's still fun to watch.

"What time does it start?" I ask. It's hard to be mad at him because I know him so well. If he wasn't upset, he would still be fighting with me. It's when he changes the subject that you know you've gotten to him.

--

"You found out about the werewolf thing, didn't you?" Camryn asks me as I walk into the living room. She and Jacob are sitting on separate chairs.

"You mean you knew about it and you didn't tell me?" I demand.

"I thought you knew," she answers, shrugging. "Silver is part of the pack." Silver is Camryn's younger brother. "And my dad used to be. Of course, Silver's not allowed to run around with them yet because he's too young, but he'll be old enough soon." She shrugs. "I thought you knew about it. I mean, you are part of the tribe. And it's not really something we go shouting on the rooftops, you know. There is a certain amount of secrecy required. Do you really think people would be excited if they found out there were a bunch of teenaged werewolves running around Yosemite?"

"I guess not …" I trail off as I plop down on the couch on which Jacob is sitting.

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Jacob says as he scoots closer to me. "You know, your father knows. About the wolf thing, I mean. When he talked to me outside your house, he told me that he knew what I was and if I ever came near you again he would kill me. I think he underestimates how hard that is."

"This doesn't make sense," I say as I shake my head. "I mean, he doesn't really like Gavin, but he still lets me hang out with him, and the rest of the tribe, for that matter. If he was so against me being around werewolves, he would have taken a much bigger stand. He wouldn't let me work in a gift shop that is run by the Awahnee Tribe.

But now that I think about it, it really is just Gavin that he doesn't like. And now Jacob.

I almost find myself wanting to go home so that I can get some answers, but almost doesn't count. I'm staying right here. Well, at least for the next hour or so. Gavin's show starts at ten. When I mention the show to them, Camryn, of course, is all for it. Jacob is a bit skeptical.

"Don't you remember?" He asks me. "He and his friends want to kill me."

"I'm going to see if I can keep them from killing you," I inform him. "I mean, if I'm really his imprint, he's supposed to want to do anything to make me happy, right?"

"That's generally how it works, yes," Jacob answers.

"Well, it would make me very happy to see you leave the Yosemite Valley alive," I inform him.

"You want me to leave?" He asks, sounding slightly hurt.

"No, I don't want you to leave," I answer, "but I just … didn't think you'd plan on staying here forever."

"As long as you're here, I'll be here," he answers as he kisses me on the temple.

"As cute as this is," Camryn interrupts, "I'm about to go see a very sexy boy play his guitar. Sadly, I can't watch you two lovebirds anymore. Show him the guest room, Cam? He looks like he's about the same size as my dad, I'll see if I can find something acceptable to wear. He is coming, right?" I look to Jacob, who shrugs.

"I guess," he answers. "It's probably better to walk right into the line of fire than sit here waiting to be ambushed."

Camryn smiles, comes over, and ruffles his hair. "That's what we like to hear." Camryn walks out and Jacob turns his head to look at me.

"I have a question for you," he states as he continues to stare, his eyes are very penetrating.

"I probably won't be able to answer it," I reply, "but I'll give it my best shot."

"Why are the wolves here?"

"What to do you mean?" I sigh, starting to become exasperated once more. Is he saying that the wolves have to have a reason to be here? Well, that would just make things even more interesting, wouldn't it?

"Well, back in La Push," Jacob begins, "the werewolves didn't come about until there was a legitimate threat to their land. That threat was vampires. When there was no threat, there were no wolves, but when the vampires came back, they returned. Or, shall I say the gene returned? It's hard to explain, but the wolves don't phase unless there is a reason to do so. Any ideas about what that might be?"

Are you kidding me?

"I have no idea," I answer as I shake my head. "I mean, I didn't even know about the wolf thing until today. How could you expect me to actually know things about them?"

"You are part of the tribe, aren't you?" He asks. "Aren't there legends? Stories? There has got to be something."

"I don't know …" I answer. "Maybe it's vampires? I would be really surprised, though. People don't randomly disappear from around here … nor do they randomly die."

"But they do get mauled by bears," he supplies. Immediately I know that he is talking about my mother. Is he suggesting that my mother was killed by a vampire?

"That doesn't happen very often, though," I say to him.

"OK, but what about other deaths?" He asks. "Campers get lost, don't they? They fall off cliffs? Drown in rivers and streams?"

"No … not really," I reply. "There aren't really that many deaths in Yosemite, despite what you may think."

"Well, our vampires were 'vegetarians'," Jacob says, putting air quotes around "vegetarians." "They never fed on people, they fed on animals. Though, your vampires might slip up occasionally and eat a person."

"Well, if that's the case, we would never know," I inform him. "Animals die all the time. No one would notice if a few bears died, as long as they weren't going overboard. And stop talking like there are definitely vampires here. You don't know that for sure."

"All I'm saying is there has to be something," Jacob states as he stands up. "And you might want to find out what it is, now that you're in the loop. I'm sure Gavin would know."

"Why do you want to know so badly?" I ask as I get up to follow him. I need to show him where the guest bedroom is, after all.

"I'm just curious," he answers. "I wasn't aware that there were any other wolves besides the Quileutes. I just want to know everything that I can. Knowledge is power and all that." We go up one of the many sets of staircases and take a left. There is the guest bedroom. It's tastefully done in shades of beige and dark brown, and there is a queen sized bed right in the middle of the room. The windows face east and have light curtains so that in the morning the sunlight comes in, but not enough to blind you.

I love waking up in this room. Usually, when I sleep here, this is where I sleep. I don't think that is going to be the case tonight unless something happens. But I'm really not that type of girl. But then again, I have never been propositioned by anyone who is supposed to be my soul mate, so I don't know what would happen in that situation.

"You're staring at that bed pretty hard," Jacob states as he takes my chin in his hand and turns my face so that I have to look at him. "Would you like to climb in? I really wouldn't be upset about skipping this little concert."

My breath catches in my throat when he touches me and my skin feels like it's on fire. I have to resist, though. I promised Gavin I would come. He'll be upset if I don't show.

"No, Jacob," I say as firmly as I can, which isn't really that firm.

"Please. It's Jake," he reminds me. "And in that case, I guess I should shower. I don't even want to tell you how long it's been." But, before he lets me go, he wraps a hand around my waist and pulls me closer to him. The hand that is already placed on my chin lifts my face as his bends to meet mine. When our lips touch it's like there's a spark, only we don't jump back. We embrace it. It just feels right.

I have to be Jacob's imprint. There's no other way to explain this feeling.