Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight
*** Chapter 4 – Sudden Loss ***
After the interaction at the river, Mat never returned to his post as Bella's watchman. She continued to weave in and out of the pack's days and knew that Mat was intentionally avoiding her. While she may have entertained the idea of enjoying his body, Mat's absence gave her a reprieve from feeling his angry gaze on her back whenever she got close to any member of the tribe. She could do without his negative vibe hanging in the air.
The rest of the pack dismissed it as his grudging acceptance of her presence, even if he couldn't accept what she was. Jacob was relieved he hadn't been forced into giving an alpha command that Mat leave Bella alone.
Mat was busy trying to avoid any interaction with Bella, and hating himself for the fact that his mind would automatically resort to thoughts of her naked form whenever he wasn't actively engaged in conversation or some task that required his attention. The boys of the pack found it entertaining that his "white spaces" often appeared when they were sharing the pack mind, and had taken to teasing him about his adamant denial of any interest in the female vampire.
"Mat and Bella sitting in a tree…"Seth sing-songed after shifting back following his perimeter guard shift.
Paul laughed and picked up on the taunt, "He wishes he was K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Having trouble not thinking about our girl again, Mat?"
"Shut the fuck up, man. I swear she's done something with those freaky bloodsucker powers of hers," Mat defended.
Paul scratched his chin, "Interesting theory….only, I've had her more than once, and I don't think about her nearly as much as you do. I don't know, Seth, I think our boy likes Bella more than he wants to admit…"
Seth and Paul burst into laughter as Mat stalked away from the two, desperate to get away from verbal reminders of the same accusations he had confronted himself with that very morning in the mirror.
Being a Friday night, the bar in Port Angeles was packed. Paul and the other single wolf boys had decided they needed a night to blow off some steam, so they packed into various vehicles and headed out in their best threads. Leah had gotten dragged along for the ride when Seth refused to stay home, and she felt the need to play mother hen to keep all parties involved out of an overnight stay in a jail cell. Boys will be boys, and wolf boys tended to pick fights when they had a few. Mat decided a nice beer buzz and someone to share a dance with would be just the distraction he needed.
They'd already finished their first round of long necks when Mat heard cat calls being directed towards the door. He turned to see the object of their attention only to curse his luck from thinking he could catch a break.
Bella stood in the entranceway, clothed in a pair of dark denim jeans and black boots that reached mid-thigh. Her top was black as well, an off one shoulder number made from some flowing black material that didn't cling to her skin, but would catch all her curves when she moved. Hair piled high in a messy pony tail and dark crimson lips, the hammered silver of her earrings kissed the top of her shoulders, giving her a wild, untamed look. She smiled when she saw the boys and nodded her head in their direction before heading to the bar.
Stopping at their table, a shot glass of amber liquid in each hand, she quickly downed each one before setting the empty glasses on the table.
Leah came around to stand beside her, "Thank God, you made it. I was seriously starting to question my good intentions of keeping an eye on these guys and considered leaving them to their own devices."
The boys made various comments about how they could take care of themselves and didn't need a babysitter, but Bella was in agreeance with Leah as she had been forced to break up more fights than she could remember in the past.
"You drink alcohol?" Mat couldn't help voicing his curiosity.
"Well look who can talk again," Bella met his gaze with a blank stare, "Yes, I take a little more alcohol then the average person, and my body will still burn through it fairly quickly, but if I can stay on top of it I can take off the edge of a hard day. Problem is, bartenders aren't used to a female of my size polishing off a fifth without passing out, and they start to get nosy, so, it isn't a frequent occurrence."
Paul chose that moment to pull Bella with him onto the dance floor, and Mat was left watching the girl slide her back down Paul's front before making her way back up and falling in sync with his steps as he kept his hands on her hips. Leah rolled her eyes and turned back to the rest of the table, not interested in the public display. Mat found his grip on the beer bottle had tightened and downing the remaining contents, he walked over to the bar to order another.
One song turned into three or four before the couple returned to the table. Bella took a pull of Seth's beer and then froze in place, having tilted her head to the side. Her nostrils flared slightly and black pupils dilated in amber orbs. Paul and the rest of the table followed her gaze to a guy that had pinned a smaller female against a wall with his arms, leaning in to talk to her. Moving off their stools, Bella stopped the movement at the table with a simple, "I've got this."
Grabbing Leah's hand, she made her way over to the man in question.
"Don't be like that sweetheart, I just asked your name is all."
The 20-something redhead with green eyes tried to turn her head away from the alcohol-laced breath of her interrogator, "And, I asked nicely for you to please let me leave. I'm not here to meet anyone, and I really just want to return to my table."
Bella leaned against the wall next to the man's arm, catching his attention. He glanced over and she licked her lips slowly, "Hey there, you look like trouble."
He flashed a grin at her attention, "I just might be, what kind of trouble did you have in mind?"
Arching an eyebrow in response, Bella suggested, "How about you let this child go about her way and we can talk."
Leaning back so the girl could step out from the cage he'd placed her in, Bella looked at Leah, "Make sure she's okay."
Leah followed the retreating girl, leaning down to introduce herself.
"She would have been more than okay if she'd had spent a little time with me," the stranger leered.
"You think so?"
"Oh, baby, I can make you scream my name all night long if you let me."
"I have no doubt you're terrifying to the ladies," Bella responded sarcastically.
"Smart mouth you have there. I'm not above teaching a thing like you a lesson or two."
Bella closed the gap between them, "I think I'll pass on the learning for tonight, and I suggest you turn and take your veiled threats elsewhere."
Laughing at her words, he clamped a hand down on her wrist and tried to shove her back against the wall, but found it was like trying to push a large boulder. Bella tilted her head and smiled, "Problem?"
With her free arm, she grabbed the hand that was on her other wrist and clamped down until she could feels his bones start to rub together under the flesh, "Two words: Walk. Away."
Spitting in her face, the idiot turned and made his way straight for the exit and out into the night. Bella wiped the spit off her cheek and turned back towards the table to see Paul deeply engaged in a conversation with the young lady she'd rescued. He placed a hand on her cheek, warmly smiling, and she watched as the girl leaned into his palm.
Stepping up to the table, she took a closer look at the pair before muttering, "Fuck…"
Leah stepped up beside her, "You know how it is…"
"Yeah, yeah. Shots. Now. Go bribe the bartender for the whole bottle of Jack. In doing the right thing, I just rescued Paul's stupid imprint."
Leah laughed and headed towards the bar, Bella rolled her eyes at the couple and made her way back to the dance floor to forget the night's events until she could get another drink in her hand. Mat watched the interchange with interest. Bella didn't seem angry or jealous about Paul's imprint; she just appeared annoyed by what would be the loss of her friend with benefits.
An hour later, Bella didn't have a care in the world, Leah was completely wasted, Paul had left with Mia (redhead's name), the bottle of Jack was empty, the rest of the pack had taken off earlier, and there was no one sober enough to drive the girls home but Mat. Sighing, he led the two giggling (yes, giggling) females out to his car and headed back to the reservation.
Pulling up in front of Leah's house, Mat opened doors for Bella as she carried the dozing girl inside and up to her room. When Bella placed the woman on her bed, Leah opened half-lidded eyes and reached a hand up Bella's shirt, rubbing her thumb over a nipple. Bella sighed and gently took Leah's wandering hand into her own.
"You know, you could always give me a chance," Leah suggested.
Bella tucked the girl under a blanket and sat down on the edge of the mattress, "Leah, my friend, you are stunningly beautiful and I would be lucky to have you, but you know I just don't have a thing for girls. We've discussed this, and I know there is someone perfect for you out there. Hell, if Paul can find the love of his life…"
Leah's eyes sparked angrily, "Paul found his imprint, the one person destined to happily birth all his little wolf cubs. I refuse to be a part of some stupid supernatural breeding program, Bella. You know they won't understand me."
"Shh, sh, sh, we don't need to discuss this tonight, sweetie. Close your eyes, get some sleep." Bella leaned forward to kiss the girl on her forehead, but Leah grabbed hold of her friend and locked the unsuspecting girl into a searing kiss. Bella gentle pushed her away, laughing like Leah had tried this before.
"You can't blame me, you look really fuck-hot in those boots."
"Yeah, yeah, goodnight Leah."
Bella got up and turned towards the door realizing that she had dropped her guard and hadn't caught that Mat had been witness to the entire exchange. She shoved him out of the room and made sure he followed her back outside.
Turning on him, she stated, "You say nothing about that. Got it?"
Mat contemplated snapping back that she couldn't tell him what to do, but he was caught off guard by her fierce protection of the only female in the pack. He found himself nodding his head in agreement, "Sure, I won't say anything."
Bella seemed a little surprised that he had given in so easily, and she stood there for a few moments, taking note that it was the first time since the night of the hunt that they'd been alone again.
"You want to go for a run?"
Mat was taken aback by the question, so much so, he looked over his shoulder to see if someone was behind him.
Bella snorted at his reaction, "Whatever. Goodnight, Mat."
"Wait, wait…I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to ask me to do anything with you."
"It's just a run. Nights like this, I just need to check out for a bit. No big deal."
Bella turned towards the tree line.
"Sure."
She stopped her movement and looked back at him. He had already started pulling his shirt up over his head revealing a broad muscular chest and that happy trail of hair leading into his jeans that she had been daydreaming about, and she snapped her head back the other direction before he caught her.
Hearing him pad up to her side, she looked over into his dark brown eyes and he nodded his head in assent before she took off up the shoreline of the reservation.
Having run many miles up the beach, she turned back towards home and made her way out to a rocky ledge that leaned out over the water. She took a seat down on the edge, letting her legs hang freely over the side, just staring out into the night, the waves crashing below her. Mat was a few paces behind and followed her scent, stopping when he realized that she had stopped moving. He gave up on going back to retrieve his clothes, but merely phased back to human form and remained to the right of her shoulder, a few feet behind.
"Do you not have any family left? I mean, I realize the pack is your family, but where are your parents, sisters, brothers?"
Bella sighed, and leaned forward out into the ocean air, letting the wind play with her hair, "I'm an only child, and my mother hasn't lived here in years. My parents were divorced when I came to live with my dad. To answer your question, she lives in Florida and she thinks I died. When I was attacked, the vampire who changed me had been to my house first. My dad caught him breaking in, and tried to shoot him. The vamp grabbed the gun and shot Charlie, leaving him to bleed out on the floor. The police assumed I was kidnapped, though it didn't really make sense. But how else could they explain the absence of my body? So, no, no family as you're referring to."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I've made my peace with it, and honestly, if Charlie were still alive, I'd have a hard time staying away from him and that would only put him in danger. I'm not even sure he would have accepted what I've become," Bella barked a laugh, "You know, not everyone thinks vampires are cool."
Mat flinched at her words, knowing she was referring to his ill treatment, "Yeah, I think I've heard something like that."
Silence settled between them and the repetitive sounds of the waves started to cause Mat's breathing to slow down and his muscles to relax. He tried stifling a yawn.
"Just shift already and lay down. You're failing if you think I can't tell you're tired."
"What about you?"
"I don't sleep, one of the down sides of being a vampire."
Mat mulled over her confession realizing there was no way any one of them, supernatural beings they may be, would be able to keep up with her every moment of the day.
"You're safe, scout's honor."
"You were a girl scout?"
Bella laughed, the sound tinkling across the breeze, "No, but you can either collapse where you stand or come lay down and sleep. Just phase first, please."
"You prefer sleeping with dogs?"
"No, you distract me. I've seen plenty of naked men around this place, but you tend to make me lose my concentration," Bella explained.
"I interrupt your thoughts?" Mat smirked as he teased.
"Someone happened to mention the other day that your thoughts are interesting these days…" Bella aimed back.
Mat's cheeks heated crimson and he shifted back before coming to lay by her side, looking out at the ocean and seeing the sky had already started to turn the grey blue of early morning. Bella reached over and scratched behind his ears. Mat turned and snapped at her hand, causing the woman to burst into laughter, "Touchy much?"
Mat snarled and settled down, letting his eyes drift close, not bothering to pay attention to the contentment he found sleeping with the enemy.
A/N: So, I haven't updated this since January, and some of it is I just froze on the writing thing, and then I concentrated on finishing my first story. I'm hoping to give Twisted a little more attention from here on out. I know we started on a very smutty basis, but I think we've crept over into touchy-feely land, no? Leave me some love!
XOXO Ginja
