A/N: Thanks to my PTB betas, EllieCC and AGirlReckoning, for getting me through this chapter!

We left off with hellcat Ness throwing Jacob out of her dorm in the wee hours of Saturday morning after abruptly ending their first round of imprint sex. She's confused as hell and he's pissed about her accusations.

Chapter 7 – Apologies & Truths

NPOV

I woke up and immediately wished it was all a dream. Everything went from looking good to bad, to impossibly worse. I forced my eyes open and appraised the damage to my room. The door survived and nothing was broken. Good. The first thing I saw in my dresser, I put on, grabbed the remote, and curled into my blankets. I turned on the first movie I came across, a cheesy horror movie with bad graphics. I tried to focus on it but my thoughts kept wandering. My phone rang several times, but it was on the other side of the room – much farther than I was willing to move at the moment.

The movie didn't help much. I was wrong on so many levels. I shouldn't have allowed myself to get that drunk, I shouldn't have pursued a human, and I sure as hell shouldn't have told him I was immortal. I definitely shouldn't have threatened to scream rape. The guy practically saved my life, and I treated him so terribly. As much as I wished I could blame my actions on alcohol, I couldn't. The alcohol in my system had been almost gone when I'd woken up.

One thing was for sure, though. I was extremely confused. He had a grip on me like I'd never felt. When I looked into his eyes, there was so much I didn't understand. I wanted to pretend he'd drugged me, but I knew better. I definitely felt intoxicated in some unnatural way, but it wasn't alcohol- or drug-induced. It was something else…something bigger…stronger.

When he was inside me, I felt something unexplainable. It was like a constant orgasm. Plus the heat from his body was ridiculously arousing. All this time I thought cold felt good, heat was definitely better. Cold sent spine tingling chills through my body, made my nipples stand erect…heat made my body burn with a desire I couldn't even fathom.

Before my thoughts could venture too far into fantasy, there was a loud knock on my door. Great. I stood in front of itfor a moment, willing the person to leave.

"Renesmee, let me in," Warren whispered.

I immediately flung it open. He couldn't be left in the hall for so many reasons, the most important of which was that he was very new to not killing humans and avoided them at all costs. I knew he'd be able to smell the remains of sex in the air, as well as Jacob's scent, but I couldn't leave him out in the hall. It was too dangerous.

He was on me as soon as the door closed, but not in a sexual way. He lifted me into his arms and embraced me tightly.

"I was so worried about you. Where have you been? I've been calling. I came by late last night and you weren't home yet. I saw your car over at that Delta house but you weren't there. God, I was so worried, I almost called your dad."

I gasped. "Warren, please don't ever call my dad unless you are absolutely certain something is wrong."

He stood me in front of him and held my face in his hands. "Renesmee, I really thought something was wrong. You were nowhere to be found. I guess now I know you actually have a life." He sounded a little jealous.

I saw it in his face the moment he registered the smell of sex in the air. He went from happy I was alive to looking like I'd broken him into pieces. He stepped away from me and stared at the floor.

"I'm sorry," I said, closing the distance between us. He stepped back when I tried to touch him. What have I done?

"It's okay. I'm fine with it. Really." His words and his body language didn't match up.

"I don't know what to say. Honestly, I don't even know how it happened." I wrapped my arms around my torso, wishing I could crawl into someplace dark and never come out.

He jerked his head up and finally looked at me. "What do you mean? Did someone drug you or something? I'll kill them, I swear—"

"No, that's not what I meant." He didn't step away when I came closer this time. "Well, technically, someone did…but…what happened…it wasn't that. I was drunk…it's so confusing. I just don't understand how I let it happen." My words spewed out of my mouth erratically, but it was the truth. I still couldn't figure it out.

"Well at least it wasn't a human." Warren physically relaxed a little.

"What do you mean? What is he? How'd you know that?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know. The smell definitely isn't human. I don't even know how you tolerated being around him. He smells disgusting."

I didn't comment. I'd hurt him enough already. Jacob smelled like the best thing in the world to me, but apparently Warren didn't agree.

"Did you walk here?" I asked, trying desperately to change the subject.

"Most of the way. I brought your car back. Oh, I've got some bad news."

Oh, God, how could this day get worse?

"Someone jacked your stereo and speakers," he finished.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Wonderful. Emmett and Rosalie gave me all that stuff."

At least my car was still intact. I could replace the stereo and speakers with the similar stuff and they'd never know the difference. Karma was already starting to come back around on me for being such a royal bitch last night.

"I'm really, really sorry, but I need some time alone right now. Can we hang out tomorrow? I don't feel too good. Someone slipped me GHB last night and I've been out of it all day."

It was obvious he wasn't buying it. The fact that I was a terrible liar didn't help matters at all. He looked at me, and I could practically feel the pain I'd inflicted.

"I can take care of you if you're not feeling well," he murmured, tucking my hair behind my ear.

I was so conflicted and confused. I cared greatly for Warren; the last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt him. I owed him so much more than I could ever give. He was a great friend, and until just a few hours ago, I thought he was an amazing lover. I knew he loved me and wanted to commit himself to me for some crazy reason. He wanted to hold me and make me feel better. He wanted to kiss me the way I'd kissed Jacob last night…and why I kissed him like that I still wasn't sure. Warren had listened to me bitch and moan, he dealt with my raging PMS, he even moved all the way across the country for me. To hell with my wants, I owed this to him. I couldn't break his heart, especially when I didn't even know what I was feeling.

"You're welcome to stay, but you'll be bored," I said, backing into my bed and slipping under the covers.

He grinned and his mood seemed to pick up a little. "Impossible."

I pulled him beside me and curled against his body. Cold was nothing like hot. We watched a few movies with minimal conversation. Warren didn't even try to love on me the way he did sometimes when I allowed myself to cuddle up to him like that.

"Renesmee?" he said. I looked up to meet his amber gaze. "Did he hurt you?"

Hurt wasn't exactly the word for it. If I'd had any time to think about it, I might have had a better understanding of exactly how I felt, but at the time, I just felt confused and angry with myself. I couldn't explain all that to Warren, though.

"Not really. Now don't go running after him or anything…it didn't go well. He didn't hurt me, though." I turned back to the television, hoping to end the conversation at that. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"That's fine." He nuzzled my hair with his face but didn't kiss it. I was a cruel, evil person for allowing him to love me like this with nothing to give back.

Once the next movie came on, I allowed my thoughts to drift to Jacob. I tried and tried to understand what was going on in my head, but I couldn't. I'd never felt this way before. I couldn't even define it. I found myself wondering where he was, what he was doing, if he was thinking about me…then wondering why in the hell I even cared. Cuddling against Warren only hindered me from coming to any sort of conclusion.

"I'm not trying to kick you out or anything, but my roommate said she'd be back either tonight or early tomorrow." I knew she wouldn't be back until tomorrow around nine in the morning, but I really wanted to be alone. Half-truths were easier to get away with than full blown lies.

He hopped up. "That's cool. I've got a craving for some coyote anyway." He playfully kissed my cheek before walking to the door.

"You don't have to leave right this minute, silly."

"I've got some stuff to do, too. See ya, babe."

I laughed lightly and tried not to think about what other stuff he could possibly have to do besides hunt. "Later."

My mind immediately drifted back to Jacob. Just thinking his name gave me this strange yet satisfying feeling in my gut. Jacob…Jacob…

The anger was gone now. Last night didn't seem to matter. It didn't make sense, but it didn't matter. I wanted him in ways I didn't understand. I wanted to see him. I wanted him to want me. I wanted to be nice to him. So, I decided to apologize for being so cruel last night.

I would definitely need to shower first. The smell of cigarettes, booze, and Warren was all over me. If only I could get rid of those smells without washing away Jacob's scent.

The bathroom was full of girls getting ready to go out for the night. I couldn't believe I lay around all day. I scrubbed my body and hair thoroughly then slipped my robe on and headed back to my room to get ready for my visit with Jacob. I wasn't even sure if I'd see him. Since it was a Saturday night, he probably had plans or something. I had to at least try to see him, though.

The first thing I did was scatter all my make-up across the bed. Would he prefer less make up or more? Curly hair or straight? I rolled my eyes at myself for being so ridiculous and went with my usual – if he didn't like me for who I really was, then he wasn't worth it.

Or was he?

I played up my eyes with shadow and mascara then applied a soft pink lip gloss. I didn't want to come off as being slutty – since I probably didn't make a good impression last night – so I chose a conservative maxi dress with flat sandals. Finally, I ran some mousse through my mostly-dry waves and took a final look in the mirror. Not too slutty, not too virginal. Perfect.

Just as I was walking out the door to leave, I ran straight into Jacob. He let himself in without so much as asking for permission or saying hello. He immediately began looking around my room, behind the door and under the bed.

"Did you forget something?" I asked as kindly as I could, attempting to mask the confusion in my voice.

"I know this sounds crazy, but I need you to come with me." He looked afraid, like something was terribly wrong. I got lost in his deep brown eyes for a moment and forgot he was speaking to me. "It's important. Please."

Somehow I couldn't say no to him. He grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door, leading me to the stairwell. He picked me up and carried me down six flights of stairs at a pace that I could match if I were using my full strength. Definitely not human. He put me down and continued to drag me by the hand at a brisk walk through the parking lot to what I assumed was his car.

"I promise I'm not going to hurt you. Just trust me," he said, opening the passenger door.

"I trust you," I murmured. I wasn't sure why, but I did.

We rode in silence for several minutes before I built up the courage to speak.

"I'm sorry I choked you and said I'd file rape charges against you. I didn't mean it."

"I'm sorry I acted like such an asshole, and I swear I didn't drug you." His voice was hard from the stress of the situation– which I still was clueless as to the source of – but I could tell he was trying to be gentle and polite.

"I knew you didn't."

He took his hand off the gear shifter and placed it on my thigh – an unexpected but definitely welcome gesture.

"Can you tell me what we're running from?" I asked shyly.

He jerked the car into the emergency lane and put it in park. He turned to face me, and I felt my body melt into the floorboard. "I don't know what you are or how much you know, but don't freak out, okay? You're safe with me."

"Okay." I nodded for him to continue.

He swallowed hard. "I…I don't know how to explain this to you. I followed the scent of a vampire to your room. The scent was all over the place. My friend is going after it as we speak. You'll never have to worry about it again. I know it might sound crazy, but it's true."

I froze. I couldn't move or speak. Warren.

"Ness, it's okay. We'll take care of it," he said soothingly.

"NO!" I shouted, finally snapping out of my state of shock. "I know him! He's my best friend! Don't hurt him!"

His face turned to a cold mask. "A vampire is a vampire. We can't let him run around killing students just because he's your friend."

I glared at him. "Warren doesn't hurt people! He's not like that!" I shouted, still panicking that someone out there was going after Warren with intentions of killing him.

Jacob sighed, rolled his eyes, and opened his car door. "Stay put. I'll be right back."

Again, I couldn't disobey him. I sat in the car and watched from my window as he jogged into the woods beside the highway. He ran so far I couldn't see him anymore. Less than two minutes later, he was running back with a look of disgust on his face. He got in and started driving again.

"Can you please tell me why you are best friends with a vampire?" His voice was malicious, and his hands gripped the wheel tightly.

I huffed and took his hand in mine. "Promise you won't hurt me?" I asked quietly.

"I could never hurt you," he said in the most sincere tone. The crease in his brow faded, and he seemed to be calm again.

I breathed in his scent for what I hoped wouldn't be the last time. "I'm half human…" I paused for a long moment. He nodded slowly for me to continue. God, just say it. "And half vampire." The words stumbled out of my mouth.

"WHAT?" he roared. He jerked the car back into the emergency lane and got out. His body was trembling. I got out and started to walk toward him. "Stay back!" he shouted. I stopped where I was, unable to move any farther. "WHY?" he shouted to the sky. "What the fuck did I do?" He continued to scream obscenities and questions to the heavens, still shuddering and pacing around. He ran into the woods, and I followed behind him.

I didn't understand why, but his apparent hatred for vampires, and me by extension, hurt to the core.

A/N: I'd love to hear your opinion of this chapter. Did Jacob finding out what Ness is go as you expected? And poor, poor Warren…

I'm considering starting each chapter with a little note at the top mentioning where the last chapter left off (like I did in this one). Is that something you'd like? I know I usually have to go back to the previous chapter for a little refresher before reading the new one since I'm reading like 8 WIPs lol. Let me know.

The next chapter has been sent over to be beta'ed and I'll have it posted as soon as I get it back! :-)